About
The Detective Bureau is one of the specialized units of the Investigations Division within the Battle Creek Police Department. It is comprised of a Detective Sergeant and up to ten Detectives. Police Detectives are promoted from the Patrol Division after a review of their overall performance and upon completion of a promotional process. A Detective must have attention to detail, excellent work ethic and be a thorough investigator. The Detective Bureau is responsible for the investigation of more complex crimes. Its work often complements the work of Patrol Officers assigned to our nine patrol districts. Detective work is highly specialized, usually encompassing the examination and evaluation of evidence to apprehend suspects and to build solid cases against them. The Detective Sergeant ensures that each one of its Detectives conducts high-quality investigations in a timely manner and that each investigation is handled efficiently, with dedication and professionalism.
Crimes that Detectives commonly investigate include homicides and serious assaults, adult and juvenile sex crimes, child abuse, robberies, frauds, identity theft and major larcenies. Criminal complaints are typically reported to the Patrol Division where an Officer will gather initial information to assess the nature of the crime itself. If the crime is complex in nature or will require a more time consuming and thorough investigation, it will then be assigned to the Detective Bureau. After completing the investigation, those complaints that are found to be with merit are presented to either the city attorney or county prosecutor for criminal prosecution.
Detectives work closely with victims, involved officers, prosecutors, other law enforcement agencies and local support service agencies in these investigations. Additionally, Detectives frequently work hand-in-hand with each of the other units that make up the Investigation Division by supplementing their investigations.