Criminal Investigations Division (CID)

The function of the Criminal Investigations Division is to investigate all major felony crimes from the crime scene through the investigation and into court.

The Criminal Investigations Division is supervised by Chief of Detectives Lt. Dustin Christner, Det. Sgt. Andrew Pierson, and Det. Sgt. Patrick Bennett, and staffed by detectives who are assigned to various roles. Some of those roles include several general case felony detectives, one special victim’s detective, one evidence technician/crime scene processor, narcotics unit detectives, street crimes officers, two school resource officers (SRO), and one secretary. The majority of detectives are members of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis.

Not all cases requiring follow-up investigation are referred to the Criminal Investigations Division. Many are retained in the Patrol Division. If you have reported a crime and it has been assigned to a detective, you will normally be contacted by the detective soon after the detective has been assigned to further investigate the case. If you wish to check on the progress of your case, and an investigator has not contacted you, you should check with the police officer who initially took your report.

GENERAL CASE DETECTIVES

Members selected for assignment to the Criminal Investigations Divisions as a general case detective are chosen for the knowledge, skills, and abilities they exhibited as patrol officers and for their strong work ethics and desires to succeed. These detectives receive extensive specialized training to help develop them into capable interviewers and investigators. They also receive specialized training in areas such as death investigations, crime scenes, fingerprinting, evidence handling, forensics, court presentations, surveillance, etc.

SPECIAL VICTIMS DETECTIVES

Special Victims detectives tend to focus their efforts on sex crimes, child pornography, child abuse/death cases, missing persons, crimes against the elderly, and juvenile runaways.

EVIDENCE TECHNICIAN / CRIME SCENE PROCESSING

The Alton Police Department Evidence Technician accepts, catalogs, safeguards, stores, produces as required for court, returns to a legal owner, or otherwise legally disposes of all property coming into the custody of the Alton Police Department. Property received by the Evidence Section includes evidence related to all crimes investigated by the Alton Police Department and contains general property of all descriptions.

Some of the duties of the evidence technician at crime scenes include photographing crime scenes and evidence, diagramming/sketching crime scenes, scene measurements, processing crime scenes for latent prints, taking a plaster cast or inked impressions of footprints, shoe prints, and tire tracks, collection of hairs and fibers for analysis, detection of blood, blood pattern interpretation, evidence collection, documentation of autopsy examinations, and collection of entomology samples.

The Evidence Technician receives assignments from the Chief of Detectives for major crime scenes and is subject to call out 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Some of those crime scenes include homicides, suicides, shootings, robbery, arson, sexual assault, etc.

NARCOTICS UNIT

The Alton Police Department Narcotics Unit is comprised of detectives assigned to investigate felony drug crimes in our community. They tend to focus their efforts on narcotics dealers. They also often work hand in hand with the general case detectives on high profile felony cases.

STREET CRIMES UNIT

The Street Crimes Unit is comprised of officers who are assigned to monitor and patrol high crime areas in Alton. They are a very proactive group who routinely frequent known drug houses, high drug/crime areas, areas of concern for traffic safety, and make concerted efforts to apprehend offenders. They also routinely assist the Narcotics Unit detectives with drug investigations and drug criminal apprehensions. They are overseen by the Narcotics Unit Supervisor.

SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS

The Alton Police Department has two, full-time school resource officers. One of the officers is assigned to the Alton Middle School. The other officer is assigned to Mark Twain School. The School Resource Officers are assigned to assist and keep safe the staff, students, and student family members of their respective schools. They also respond to other schools in the Alton School District when requested. The Patrol Division assists the School Resource Officers by conducting daily visits and walkthroughs of the schools in our community to ensure the safety of all.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION SECRETARY

The Criminal Investigations Division has one administrative secretary, Jenny Fish. She is a wealth of information should you need to inquire about the status of a case or pretty much any matter related to your investigation. She can be reached at 618.463.3505 ext. 634.