Criminal Investigations Division

The Criminal Investigations Division of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, or CID, currently has a total of 51 members. The division commander is Captain Bobby Holmes. The persons in charge of day-to-day operations are Lieutenant James Harrell, Lieutenant Michelle Huey, and Lieutenant Bruce Ferguson. The division operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The division is broken up into four units:

• Crimes Against Persons Unit
• Crimes Against Property Unit
• Major Case Unit
• Special Investigations Division "SID" (Narcotics and Vice) - click for details

Included in each of these units is a Sergeant who is in charge. We have a crime scene unit that processes major crime scenes and an evidence custodian that secures and stores all the evidence collected from the various crime scenes and cases investigated. We have one secretary and a full time Latent Fingerprint Examiner who operates AFIS and IAFIS, who assists with secretarial duties at times

The purpose of CID is to investigate all types of crimes occurring within Douglas County, to determine the identity of perpetrators of these crimes based upon the facts and evidence, to arrest or cause the issuance of arrest warrants where appropriate and to coordinate with the prosecuting attorney throughout the criminal prosecution of the offender.

The Crimes Against Persons Unit is under the supervision of Sgt. Sharon Carroll. This unit is responsible for the investigation of major felony crimes relating to homicide, armed robbery, assaults, rape and other sex related crimes, crimes against children and domestic violence incidents. This unit works closely with DEFAC's (Department of Family and Children Services) as well as other local groups such as the Domestic Violence Task Force to help recognize and gather evidence and information to substantiate criminal acts and arrest those responsible.

The Crimes Against Property Unit is under the supervision of Sgt. Mike Howell. This unit is responsible for the investigation of the crimes of burglary, theft, fraud, forgery, motor vehicle theft, and other similar type crimes. Some of the groups this unit works with include GSIN (Georgia State Intelligence Network) and GATIC (Georgia Auto Theft Intelligence Council).

The Major Case Unit is under the supervision of Sgt. John Sweat. This unit is primarily responsible for the investigation of homicides, robberies, and other crimes with aggravated injury or high monetary loss.

The Criminal Investigations Division is also responsible for identifying and compiling intelligence on any gang activity in the county. Other agencies or groups that the unit works with include the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Juvenile Programs (formally ASAP), Jumpstart, Watchful Eye, Truancy Panel, ADAP Training and Douglas County Core.

Another function that CID is responsible for is to compile and maintain an up to date sex offender registry, which can be viewed here through this web site. Any questions or comments regarding the registry can be directed to Cpt. Bobby Holmes or Inv. Trent Wilson.

Abuse Cases and Missing or Abducted Children

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office maintains trained and experienced staff for:

• Abuse cases
• Child Pornography
• Missing and Abducted children
• Internet Safety
• Prevention of missing and abducted children
• Utilizing Amber Alerts if a abduction occurs

When dealing with a possible missing child situation, it is important to understand safety and prevention methods that may minimize and resolve these types of situations.

• It is essential to maintain current head and shoulders photograph, e.g., recent school photo no more than six months old, of your children.
• Keep photos in an accessible place for any parent or guardian.
• Educate yourself and your children to know what to do if your child is missing.
• Immediately search your home, including all areas into where a child may crawl or hide.
• If you don't find your child, immediately call Law Enforcement and notify them.
• If your child becomes missing in a store or public place, notify the store manager/ supervisor immediately and call Law Enforcement.

In many abuse cases abuse it is not a stranger that is the perpetrator, but someone that the family and child may know. Therefore, it is important to educate children on how to react to a situation whether it is a stranger or someone they trust. Provide rules or guidelines that will help them understand what to do if they experience a situation. Explain to them to always talk to their parent or guardian if:

• It is safe for them to go anywhere with another person.
• It is safe to accept anything from another person.
• They experience a situation of possible abuse (sexual or physical) and help them understand what are good and bad touches.

Maintaining communication with your child is important to help ensure they will know what to do and whom to tell if they experience a situation.

Computer Forensics and Internet Safety

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office investigates numerous crimes that revolve around the use of the Internet:

• credit card fraud
• identity theft
• stalking
• child pornography

When a crime is committed using a computer, the computer can be examined for evidence stored on the hard drive. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office has trained personnel that conduct computer forensics exams to recover valuable evidence retained on computers used to commit electronic crimes.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is always concerned with the safety of children since it is a main goal to protect them from harm. We take a proactive approach in protecting children from the dangers of the Internet and try to educate parents, children, schools and other interested organizations about Internet safety. Several web sites listed below provide helpful information and free materials that parents and children can access on the Internet.