All members of the Leamington Police Service are trained to investigate most of the occurrences that they will encounter on  a daily basis.  From time to time however, police will receive a complaint that requires more time, detail, experience and training than they might possess.  When this happens, these occurrences are turned over to the Criminal Investigation Branch (C.I.B.).

     The Leamington Police Service currently has four full time Detective Constables who investigate the most serious occurrences.  These involve thefts and frauds over $5,000, serious assaults, sexual offences, non traffic related death occurrences, robbery, missing persons where foul play is suspected, extradition proceedings, child pornography, proceeds of crime, hate bias motivated crime and stalking.

     C.I.B. officers are highly trained and must meet the requirements in the

Police Adequacies Standards established by the Province.  This includes core competencies dealing with criminal complaint assessment, case management, crime scene management, interviewing, victim assistance, evidence (collecting, recording and storing) and identification of persons and suspects.  Additionally, C.I.B. officers assist other members with their investigations. 

ViCLAS

     CIB is also responsible for the maintenance and update of ViCLAS (Violent Crime Linkage System Analysis).  This is a national database established to ensure that possible linkages between predatory crimes are identified. 

     Every CIB investigation involving homicide, sexual assault, missing persons where foul play is suspected, an unidentified body or non-parental abduction requires a submission to ViCLAS.  This involves completing a detailed report outlining all the circumstances and facts about the investigation.  The contents of the ViCLAS submission are entered into the national database where they can be tracked on a national level.

Forensic Identification and Scenes of Crime Officers

     At any crime scene, forensic evidence may be left behind.  To collect this evidence, the Leamington Police Service currently has two Forensic Identification officers and four Scenes of Crime officers. All of these officers are trained in various methods of locating, collecting and preserving forensic evidence which may assist investigators.