South Sioux City
The official government website for the City of South Sioux City, Nebraska
Investigations
Criminal Investigation Section
The Criminal Investigative Section is supervised by Lt Doug Adams, and staffed by six police officers, who are assigned to the Investigative Section. Officers selected for assignment to the Criminal Investigation Section are chosen for their knowledge, skills and abilities they exhibited as patrol officers and for their desire to do the specific job for which they have applied. Members of the Investigative Section receive extensive specialized training to help develop them into capable interviewers and investigators.
All investigators are highly schooled in such areas as death investigations, crime scenes, fingerprinting, evidence handling, forensics, court presentations, surveillance, interviewing, etc. Each investigator has specific additional areas that are assigned to each investigator, such as evidence room processing, pawnshop detail, domestic violence/sex crimes, crime prevention, department photography background screening, forensics', business, crimes, drug unit,
Current members assigned to the Investigative Service Unit:
Inv. Joaquin Orduno, Inv. Nelson, SRO. Tim Hanson and SRO. Chad Cleveland.
The function of the Criminal Investigation Section is to investigate all major felony crimes from the crime scene thru the investigation and into court.
While the advances in forensic techniques you hear so much about, are of great value, our most important asset is the interest, good will, and assistance of citizens who can and do provide specific and background information about crimes and criminals. We could not solve a single case without their help.
Sorry, but we usually cannot provide you with information about a case you are not directly involved in, until after the case has been closed. To do so could be unfair to the victim.
Not all cases requiring follow-up investigation are referred to the Criminal Investigation Section. Many are retained in the Patrol Division. If you have reported a crime and it has been assigned to an Investigator, you would normally be immediately contacted by the detective. If you wish to check on the progress of your case, and an investigator has not contacted you, you should check with the police officer who took your report.
SEX CRIMES, CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT
Criminal Investigation Section, investigates some of the worst crime.
The South Sioux City's Criminal Investigation Section, investigates crimes of sexual assault, sexual abuse, child physical abuse and child neglect. Each year this unit investigates many follow-up investigations. Approximately 1/2 or more of all our cases are sex crimes and child physical abuse, child neglect.
Our Investigator's work very closely with the Department of Human Services, particularly on crimes of child sexual abuse. We use the Child Protection Center at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa who videotapes interviews with victims under 13 years old using a protocol specifically designed to be child friendly. Other parties in the "system" monitor this interview and are allowed the opportunity to get their questions answered during this process.
If you have a child abuse or other sex crime emergency, please contact 9-1-1. If you have a general question about our office, you can contact us at 494-7512.
School Resource Officers
The South Sioux City Police Department has utilized police officers as School Resource Officers (S.R.O.) for the last 20 years. When the program was first launched in the late nineteen-eighties, there was one police officer assigned full-time as School Resource Officer. They wore police uniforms and their mission was to foster an understanding between students and the police.
Today, the mission of the S.R.O. unit has changed to meet the challenges of an ever-changing school environment. The South Sioux City Police Department's S.R.O. unit provides police services to the South Sioux City School District, which includes 1 high school, 1 middle school, and six elementary schools.
The S.R.O. unit expanded to 2-police officers in 2000. The intent of the revitalized School Resource Officer program is to: (1) improve the image of the police among students; (2) increase communication between police, students, school staff and the community; (3) lessen campus tensions via direct police interaction; (4) provide an opportunity for the police to make presentations to students and parents; (5) allow time for police-youth counseling and diversion (recommending or scheduling youths and parents to other supporting agencies); (6) allow for police officers.
The overall mission of the School Resource Officers unit will always remain the same, to provide a safe learning environment for everyone attending public schools in the City of South Sioux City.
DRUG UNIT
Criminal Investigation Section
The Special Drug Unit has proactive officers which focuses primarily on controlled substance violations. Two investigators assigned to the Tri-State Drug Task Force staff the office.
This unit is the recipient of a Midwest H.I.D.T.A (High Intensity Drug Traffic Area) Grant. That grant is administered by the South Sioux City Police Department and is staffed by full time members.
The recent influx of met amphetamine labs, using a variety of home-made recipes that include red phosphorous, iodine crystals have created a very dangerous mix of deadly, toxic chemicals, as well as an extreme fire hazard in residential neighborhoods. Met amphetamines are among the most highly addictive of the illegal drugs, with a high profit margin. They have become very popular with drug pushers. Recent training in the state sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the State of Nebraska on locating, investigating, and dismantling of small met amphetamine labs, has proven valuable in identifying the spread of this highly- addictive controlled substance in the State.
SEIZED PROPERTY
Lost and found, evidence, towed cars, and property held for safekeeping
The Police Department stores a huge amount of property that belongs to other people. At any given time, we have of thousands of individual items in our property room. We pick up many abandoned (usually stolen) bicycles every year. We tow numerous cars for various reasons. A lot of the items we end up with are items of evidence, but most of it can be released to the owner immediately after we have documented, fingerprinted, and/or photographed it
Sometimes even evidence can be returned to the owner, even before the trial, under certain circumstances. Check with the assigned investigator for the specific case.
We have one Investigator assigned part-time to trying to get all these items back to the owners. They desperately want to give it back, because we really don't have enough room for it all.
If you have been the victim of a theft, burglary or robbery, it is possible that we will end up recovering some of your stolen items. The first step in you getting your property back is you have to have reported it. Give us a good description, including the things that individually identify it, like serial numbers or broken parts, scratches, etc. You can and should call in descriptions or additions to the list, later, after making the original report; call 494-7512.
Assuming that you have reported your property lost or stolen, and that you were able to give us a good description, we will call you if we or some other jurisdiction finds it.
To claim your property, please call ahead for an appointment at (402) 494-7561. This will save you considerable time. Our "release hours" are from 8AM to 4PM, Sunday through Thursday. Of course, we will try to accommodate you if those hours are not convenient for you, but the Evidence/Property officer have other duties that must be done early and late every day, so there may be some delays during other hours. We also try to accommodate walk-in traffic, but if you come in without an appointment to get property released to you, it is going to take considerably longer. Please call ahead, (402) 494 -7561 and ask for Investigator Joaquin Orduno.
If you come in for release of your property, be prepared to positively identify not only your property, but also yourself. You must bring valid identifying documents.
TRAINING
Criminal Investigation Section
The Training & Development is supervised by Lt. Doug Adams who is responsible for coordinating the department's training program, including department sponsored in-service training, all use of force training, instructor development, hosting of training events, and coordinating employees' participation in training events outside the department.
All new officers attend the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center at Grand Island, Nebraska; this is a state police academy where all officers attend throughout the state for 12 weeks (accept for those employed by agencies with their own academy)to receive their basic police training. After completion of the basic course, officers return to the S.S.C.P.D. where they continue, they're training for 12 weeks with a Field Training Officer. After this, officers are assigned to the various shifts as needed.
FORGERIES
A forgery is a check (or any other document) that is signed by any person other than the authorized signer, without the authorized signer's permission.
Our challenge here in investigations is always to determine the truth; in other words, to develop sufficient evidence to prove the case, if it exists. Due to the high number of Forged check cases we get, our ability to look for this evidence is limited. The victim is going to have to help us out. Proving that a crime has occurred is usually fairly easy (assuming its true, of course). It can be somewhat tougher to prove that your suspect is the culpable party, though. Make it easy for us, please.
The best thing you can do to help us, if you do not personally know the check writer by both face and name, is to ALWAYS check identification. That enables you to testify, months after the incident, that the person whose name is one the check is in fact the person who wrote the check. It also, of course, eliminates a lot of bad checks on the spot. Do not accept a birth certificate, or any other non-picture / non-signature ID. Compare both the picture and the signature. Always check ID, so that you can testify, even if you don't recall the specific incident, that you know you checked ID because you always do. Retailers should train their employees how to check ID, and what good ID looks like, and ensure that they always do it.
Customers should chide retailers who fail to check ID, because they raise the cost of doing business for everyone. Thank and/or compliment those clerks who do check; they protect you from crooks who might steal your ID in the future. One good idea is to have your check printers NOT show your address or phone number on your checks. Instead just list your name and the words "Please ask for identification".
BUSINESS CRIMES
Business Crimes are also investigated by the Criminal Investigation Section, Forged Checks, and credit cards.
INSUFFICIENT FUNDS: Even if a check is given to you by the owner of the checking account, is returned to you from your bank, marked "insufficient funds" or "NSF", then you still have not necessarily been the victim of a crime. You need to contact the Dakota County Attorney's Office at Dakota City to file your complaint.
STOP PAYMENTS: A check on which the owner has placed a stop payment may be a crime. Follow the usual procedures just as if it had been returned for insufficient funds. .
FRAUDULENT CHECKS: If the owner of the checking account wrote you the check with the intention that it never be paid or participated in any scheme to otherwise receive of goods or services from you, knowing at the time that you would not get paid, then you may have been the victim of a fraud. Of course, "intention" and "knowledge" can be devilishly hard to prove. A fraud is a crime, whether or not a check is involved, but a bad check case may be easier to prove and carries the same penalties.
CREDIT CARD FRAUD
The same thing applies to credit cards. At the very least compare the signature on the card to the signature of the customer. There is no reason why you cannot ask for additional ID from a person presenting a credit card or debit card. A signature isn't positive ID to a non-expert (hint: there are a few handwriting experts who are qualified to testify in court; you are not one of them.), but we can all recognize pictures. So, go ahead and ask for picture ID to go with that credit card!
Protecting Yourself and Gathering Evidence
Our challenge here in investigations is always to determine the truth; in other words, to develop sufficient evidence to prove the case, if it exists. Due to the high number of bad check cases we get, our ability to look for this evidence is limited. The victim is going to have to help us out. Proving that a crime has occurred is usually fairly easy (assuming its true, of course). It can be somewhat tougher to prove that your suspect is the culpable party, though. Make it easy for us, please.
The best thing you can do to help us, if you do not personally know the check writer by both face and name, is to ALWAYS check identification. That enables you to testify, months after the incident, that the person whose name is one the check is in fact the person who wrote the check. It also, of course, eliminates a lot of bad checks on the spot. Do not accept a birth certificate, or any other non-picture / non-signature ID. Compare both the picture and the signature. Always check ID, so that you can testify, even if you don't recall the specific incident, that you know you checked ID because you always do. Retailers should train their employees how to check ID, and what good ID looks like, and ensure that they always do it.
Customers should chide retailers who fail to check ID, because they raise the cost of doing business for everyone. Thank and/or compliment those clerks who do check; they protect you from crooks who might steal your ID in the future. One good idea is to have your check printers NOT show your address or phone number on your checks. Instead just list your name and the words "Please ask for identification".
DVSARO
Domestic Violence
The South Sioux City Police Department recognizes the dangerous and damaging effects of domestic violence and sexual assault have upon individuals, families and the community as a whole. These effects are felt not only immediate to the act but have a long-term impact as well. The South Sioux City Police Department has created the position of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Resource Officer to assist our department and our community in bringing about an end to the violence through better law enforcement strategies and practices.
The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Resource Officer (DVSARO) is funded through a federal grant, the Violence Against Women Act. The grant was awarded to the City of South Sioux City beginning October 1, 2000. The grant funds are awarded on an annual basis. The City of South Sioux continues to be funded through September 30, 2003. The funds pay the full time-wage plus training costs of the DVSARO.
The DVSARO attends community organizational meetings regarding domestic violence. Some of the organizations the DVSARO is affiliated are: S.A.R.T (Tri-State Sexual Assault Response Team), D.C.C.R.T (Dakota County Coordinated Response Team), and the Community Coalition for Domestic Violence.
The DVSARO acts as liaison between departmental agencies regarding domestic violence cases such as: Dakota County Sheriff's Dept, Dakota County Attorney's Office, Haven House, Victim Assistance, and DHS. The DVSARO provides assistance to victims of DV and to investigate criminal activity, apprehend perpetrators of violence, collects and presents evidence in court as well as assisting other investigating officers in DV cases. The DVSARO has also developed training programs for law enforcement officers regarding domestic violence cases and provides annual training to the South Sioux City P.D., as well as other agencies in Nebraska.
The DVSARO reviews all reports regarding DV assaults and/or sexual assault, reviews the SSCPD departmental policy on DV and keeping administration apprised of any new information or inconsistencies within. The DVSARO conducts follow-ups on all DV arrests to make sure proper referrals are provided and policy and procedures are followed accordingly. The DVSARO also conducts community education on the issues of domestic violence and sexual assault. Community educations includes presentations in the schools, to businesses, and civic groups. Inv. Joaquin Orduno is our DVSARO.
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