The Mesquite Police Department’s Criminal Investigative Division is responsible for the investigation of all reported crimes occurring within the city of Mesquite. Investigators from this division prepare the evidence and case files for all criminal prosecutions that originate from the city of Mesquite. In addition, the Criminal Investigative Division will proactively investigate suspicious activity and work with neighboring agencies in locating and apprehending known offenders.

Mesquite’s Criminal Investigative Division is sub-divided into smaller investigative sections, each with a specialty in specific types of crime. These investigative sections are:

*CAPERS (Crimes Against PERSons) – This section is responsible for crimes that are specifically directed towards a person (or where a person is directly confronted in the commission of the crime). These investigators generally deal with the most dangerous offenders and generally investigate violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, child abuse, and aggravated assault; as well as other crimes like harassment, missing persons, and simple assault.

*CAPROP (Crimes Against PROPerty) – This section is responsible for crimes against property. This includes theft, burglary, auto theft, vehicle burglary, and criminal mischief. These investigators can have a major impact on the quality of life within the city because most of the crimes that the citizens of Mesquite have to deal with are property crimes. Broadband | Dial-up | MP4

*Juvenile/Gangs – This section investigates all cases where a juvenile is the suspect and all cases of runaway. Because they are assigned cases based on the age of the suspect rather than the type of offense, these investigators work a wide variety of cases. These investigators also have a wider array of options in remediating the offender’s behavior than those who deal with adult offenders. The gang unit attempts to identify gang members within the city (or those who visit the city) and to specifically target their criminal activity. They also actively try to prevent kids from joining the gang culture. Broadband | Dial-up | MP4

*Narcotics – These investigators focus on the sale or use of illegal drugs within our city. Because drug use is a driving force behind much of our crime, this section is extremely important. Special attention is given to catching high volume drug traffickers and turning their illegally gained profits into tools used for the war on crime.

*Forgery/Fraud – This section focuses on investigating identity theft, forgery, credit card abuse, employee thefts, and other scams within the city. With the proliferation of credit card purchases (in person and over the internet) combined with the decrease in point of sale authentication on those purchases, these types of crimes have shown a dramatic increase. This section also focuses on informing the public on the steps they can take to try to prevent identity theft. Broadband | Dial-up | MP4

*Crime Scene – This section supports all of the department’s investigative functions. They document, collect, and analyze evidence from major crime scenes within the city and verify the true identity of all persons arrested by the Mesquite Police Department.