Utica Police Department S Criminal Investigation Division 2011 Goals and Objectives

Utica Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division 2011 Goals and Objectives:

The mission of the Criminal Investigation Division is to search for the truth; Investigators will search out and collect all available evidence surrounding each case to exonerate the innocent and substantiate the culpability of the guilty. This will be done in an ethical and impartial manner with sensitivity toward the needs of the victims and witnesses.

The Warrants Unit of the Utica Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division will make in access of 1,500 warrant arrests (Utica warrants). To help achieve this goal the Warrants Unit will recruit at least one other agency to join them in the United States Marshal New York/New Jersey Regional Task Force. The task force is a great way to multiply the workforce of all member agencies; by increasing the work force the unit should be able to achieve the goal of 1,500 Utica warrant arrests.

The Sex Offender Unit of the Utica Police Department achieved the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police Best Practices Standard during 2009. It shall be a goal of the SOU to maintain the standards set forth by the NYSACP. To make home visits on all registered sex offenders within the City of Utica during 2011. To partner with the United States Marshal Service to receive training and to explore grant opportunities to help fund home visits. Without the funding this will be done with personnel while working normal duty hours.

The Burglary Unit of the Utica Police Department will attempt to reduce the number of burglaries that occur in the city by 5%. The Burglary Unit will run an operation to disrupt stolen property outlets and push forward new legislation pertaining to pawn shops/second hand stores. The Burglary Unit will attempt to secure funding for a portable video camera in order to better monitor activity at these outlets. Because of the high recidivism rate among burglars repeat offenders will be tracked by better use of crime mapping and parole and probation records.

The Juvenile Aid Unit will continue to assist training of law enforcement agencies in the area of juvenile justice in Oneida and Herkimer Counties. Maintain a seat as a regional training representative in the NYS Juvenile Officers Association and stay active in that organization. They will attempt to reduce youth crime and juvenile delinquency. To partner with the Utica City School District, Safe Schools, Oneida County Family Court and Oneida County Probation to run a successful program (WISE) to divert youthful offenders away from the court system. Similar programs in other parts of the United States have been successful in reducing youth crime.

In general assignment CID we will strive to reduce the number of cases assigned to each investigator in order to allow more time to investigate each case and to be able to revisit cold case homicides. Review and assign cold case homicides so that all investigators in general assignment have one.

Re-asses the way that cases are assigned, check with other agencies to see how it is done elsewhere; design a better way to assign felony cases in Utica.

The general assignment units in CID would also like to reduce the number of felony criminal mischief/larceny from vehicle cases that occur in the city. We will accomplish this by better use of crime mapping, surveillance and sting operations. The development and use of confidential informants and press releases on how to avoid being a victim and on arrests will also help in this area.

Narcotics Units: The Utica Police Department’s Metro Unit will increase the number of “buy - bust” operations that they run (none were done in 2010). The Oneida County Drug Enforcement Task Force will increase the number of wire tap operations that they are involved in (1 in 2010). Both units will achieve these goals by working closely together and working with other agencies (DEA, NYSP C-Net, USMS). They will cultivate relationships with these other agencies which will multiply their workforce and increase the amount of information sharing. The two units will also work closely together in order to improve narcotics investigations in Utica. With these better working relationships each unit will achieve their 2011 goals.

The Domestic Violence Unit will work to decrease the number of repeat domestic offenders. The Domestic Violence Unit will make home visits of offenders and victims involved in domestic disputes. They will partner with Oneida County Probation Officers and DV Advocates from the YWCA in order to better educate victims and offenders and to hold offenders accountable. The visits will be determined by checking RMS and DV Court records so that we visit those involved in repeat DV incidents. Electronic files will be created for tracking and accountability purposes.

The Crime Scene Unit will better train our evidence techs in order to provide the best quality documentation possible. They will provide in service training to all ET’s. This will be a refresher and an opportunity to present any new ideas or updates in this area. The training will be coordinated with the Support Division and performed by members of the CSU. Training will be conducted at least two times per year.