Criminal Investigative Division

The Criminal Investigations Division (CID) is comprised of all of the centralized detectives in the New Orleans Police Department. CID is divided up into five sections. They are the Homicide Section, the Special Victims Section, the Property Crimes Section, the Juvenile Section and the District Attorney’s Office Section. The duties and responsibilities of each section are described below:

Homicide Section

The Homicide Section is responsible for investigating all homicides that occur in the City Of New Orleans. The section also responds to all suicides and unclassified deaths to assist the District Investigative Units. The Homicide Cold Case Unit also investigates old cases that have remained unsolved.

The Victim/Witness Assistance Unit falls under the Homicide Section. Its function is to alleviate the trauma and inconvenience placed on victims, witnesses and their families as a result of crime. This is achieved by informing them of their rights as crime victims (according to the Louisiana Crime Victim Bill of Rights), informing them of various services available (such as the Crime Victims Reparation Fund and Counseling) and providing with updated information relative their specific cases. The unit is responsible for acquiring, distributing and collecting the Louisiana Victim Notice & Registration Forms, meeting with victims or family members of various crimes, organizing victim services/ community related events and educating the department on victim assistance.

Special Victims Section

The Special Victim’s Section consists of the Sex Crimes Unit, the Child Abuse Unit and the Domestic Violence Unit. The Sex Crimes Unit is a specialized investigative unit which has the responsibility to handle the investigation of all rapes and attempted rapes, sexual batteries, and carnal knowledge cases (except in child abuse cases). The Sex Offender Registration Squad and the Cold Case Squad are part of the Sex Crimes Unit.

The Child Abuse Unit is a specialized investigative unit which has the responsibility to conduct investigations of physical abuse, including homicides; physical neglect of a life-threatening nature; sexual molestation; sudden unexplained infant deaths (SUIDS); and child pornography when children under the age of 18 years of age are identified as the victim and there is a custodial relationship between the victim and the offender at the time of the offense, and rapes where the victim is under the age of 14.

The Domestic Violence Unit is a specialized investigative unit which has the responsibility to conduct follow-up investigations on domestic violence incidents or initial investigations on the following crimes listed in the Domestic Violence Integrated Protocol: Aggravated Battery Domestic, Aggravated Assaults Domestic, Aggravated Burglaries Domestic, Aggravated Kidnappings Domestic, Strangulation cases as defined in L.R.S. 14:35.3 (B).

The Domestic Violence Unit is also responsible for the screening of all allegations of Elderly Abuse as documented in Louisiana Department of Health and Hospital reports, referring all cases not involving patient-on-patient to the State Attorney General’s Office, and investigating all patient complaints of abuse by other patients and documenting such.

The members of the Special Victim’s Section work closely with community groups, governmental and non-governmental agencies to spread awareness regarding sexual assault, child abuse and domestic violence.

Property Crimes Section

The Property Crimes Section is a centralized investigative section consisting of the Auto Theft Unit, the Towing and Recovery Unit, the Bicycle Registration Unit, the White Collar/Forgery Unit, the Pawnshop Unit, and the Digital Forensics Unit. These units function in a support capacity to the eight police districts and the other investigative sections.

Juvenile Section

The Juvenile Section is separated into the Intake Unit, the Missing and Parental Kidnapping Unit, and the Curfew Unit.

The Intake Unit consists of booking, photographing and fingerprinting the arrested juveniles. The juveniles that can be released for releasable offenses are released to a parent or guardian. The juveniles that are held for court are transported to the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center until they appear in court. The intake unit prepares paperwork for the District Attorney’s Office. It also serves as a liaison with the District Attorney’s Office and Juvenile Court.

Missing Juvenile Unit investigates instances where juveniles that become missing under special circumstances such as juvenille’s age, mental deficiency, or suspected foul play. They also investigate juveniles that are kidnapped by a parent with the intent not to return the child to the legal parent.

The Curfew Center is staffed by members of the Juvenile Section. The juveniles that are picked up for curfew violations are transported to the curfew center. The paperwork is processed and the juvenile is released to the parent or guardian.

District Attorney Section

Detectives assigned to the District Attorney Section are assigned a variety of duties, including investigation of previously refused homicide cases, as well as contractor fraud cases, victim and witness intimidation cases, and other criminal matters. They assist in bringing victims, witnesses, and evidence to and from court appearances. They are occasionally tasked with providing victim and witness protection, and escort Assist District Attorneys and Victim/Witness Counselors to and from all homicide scenes, and rape scenes, when requested. They maintain a presence in and provide security for the District Attorney's Office. One detective is assigned to Juvenile Court, where he escorts victims and witnesses to and from court appearances, retrieves evidence from Central Evidence and Property, and maintains the Juvenile Court evidence room.