Police Suggestion Criminal Investigations Unit

[Bert]

This is a suggestion I have been thinking about for quite a while now, honestly ever since my return to the community way back in March of last year. However upon a recent surge in players, and interest in improving RP as a whole I thought now would be a great time to propose a serious suggestion into this matter. I know ideas similar to this have been shut down in the past, and with my recent behavior the past few months not being to great I know this isn't super convincing but hopefully some serious thought is put into this instead of just insta-denying something that would more than definitely prove beneficial for longevity, and department quality in general.

Description of idea:

My proposition would be adding a formal investigations division within the PLPD to handle INGAME investigations only. The unit in itself would operate much like TFU, however instead of gearing up and receiving TFU like equipment, investigators/detectives would gear up and receive an alternate uniform with no additional equipment. This uniform could be quite flexible however I would personally suggest using a similar uniform to traffic, but write INVESTIGATIONS on the back of the uniform. Another important note to make is this would be a secondary division such as TFU, and as a result officers would have the option to patrol as their primary division. However I believe it would be interesting if you limited officers to joining either CIU or TFU, meaning they could only join one of the two patrolling sub divisions if accepted. It is important to note that in game, there is absolutely 0 effort put into investigations, and it really doesn't do anything for promoting better police RP, nor does it give players playing as civilians any real reason to develop complex and intricate scenes where good investigators may be required. Below I will cover some brief details that I would personally propose for the investigations unit in game.

Chain of Command
In order to avoid further complication within the ranking structure of the PLPD, I have made this as simple as I can while also allowing for useful progression within the division as a whole.

Division Coordinator
The CIU coordinator would be equivalent to a normal division head, with a fancier name to be more realistic to what you may find in an investigations division within the real world. This position would be filled by a Lieutenant, and this individual would be a functioning member of Tactical Operations working closely with the head of department in order to progress the division as a whole. This individual would be responsible for coordinating all policies, personnel, and operations within the division. While also enforcing quality control within the division as a whole.

Assistant Coordinator
The CIU assistant coordinator would be ideally filled by a Staff Sergeant within the PLPD, or alternatively a Sergeant (as I am not sure that CoD's have plans to use Staff Sergeant in administrative roles) This individual would be the second in command of the division as a whole, and would have the same duties as the coordinator, however they would lack the power to veto the coordinator.

Senior Detective
A senior detective is the highest rank that any member within the CIU can achieve without an application. Senior Detectives are detectives who have valuable experience within the division as a whole, and are expected to have a large in game presence, setting a strong example for detectives who may be serving below them. They are expected to take lead in more complex investigations, and host training sessions for lower ranking detectives to attend and learn from. Aside from the responsibilities listed above Senior Detectives also may be asked to assist in managing investigations from an administrative point of view.

Detective
A detective is the first full time member of the CIU, As a detective members are expected to have a complex and thorough understanding of the penal code, as well as the ability to perform in depth investigations and draw a conclusion. As a detective members are expected to know how to use a variety of different investigative tools such as finger print scanners, cotton swabs to gather and collect evidence, as well as a variety of different finger print dusts in order to gather more conclusive evidence on crime scenes. Detectives are expect to maintain a higher level of professionalism than normal PLPD patrol officers, and would have a large in game presence on a day to day basis.

Probationary Detective
A probationary detective is a rank reserved for new recruits into the division, as a probationary detective individuals are expected to complete a set amount of trainings in order to insure they are prepared to perform detailed, and well thought out investigations in game on a day to day basis. As a probationary detective individuals have not yet earned the right to perform investigations without the supervision of a full time ranking member of the department, and these individuals are under constant supervision to ensure they have what it takes to be a full time member of the division.

*I would personally prefer the use of Investigator in place of detective but I included the detective rank as to avoid confliction with the Internal Affairs division*

**Promotion requirements would be released at a later date if genuine interest is shown by department command, if anyone is curious as to what I have developed for this suggestion just message me on steam**

Application Process
In order to become a member of the Criminal Investigations Unit, recruits must first pass a written application section, in which they will be asked a variety of different questions in order to determine whether or not they would make a good fit for the division as a whole. This process will be designed to be selective, and will be the first line of screening to ensure that all officers that pass this phase are ready to take on the role of probationary detective. Upon passing the written phase of the application, all recruits will be expected to attend an orientation, hosted by a Senior Detective in order to earn the rank of probationary detective. Requirements for applicants would be as follows.
- At least 3 days play time.
- No written warnings/reprimands within the past 30 days.
- No warnings or bans while on duty in the past 60 days.
- Must be a member of the PLPD ranking Officer or higher.

Some people will certainly look at the requirements listed above and think they are too relaxed, however I designed them this way in order to ensure that anyone who genuinely had interest in performing complex investigations would have the opportunity to do so, as long as they have the required skills, and mentality.

Incident Reports
As a member of the Criminal Investigations Unit you will be expected to write incident reports on any SERIOUS investigation you perform, this would be things such as robberies in excess of 20,000 dollars, homicides, and kidnappings. As a member of DOJRP over on FiveM and a member of the Criminal Investigations Division over there this is an idea that I will give most of the credit to them for. While at times this can seem like a hassle, by requiring incident reports to be filled out it allows for much more complex investigations to be performed even after the in game portion of an investigation has concluded. I have taken a lot of inspiration from DOJ with this idea, however the system I have "developed" is a lot less work-like and designed to be less intimidating and more casual, but also allowing for more in depth RP to be performed for those who are interested.

Equipment Available
The division as a whole would not have access to any additional physical equipment in game, and corporals + within the division would loose access to their shotguns in their trunk while patrolling as active CIU. With that being said members of the CIU will gain access to various pieces of equipment to be used in roleplay scenarios. A brief overview will be listed below.
- Finger print scanners, which could be used to scan finger prints and compare them across a computer database to find a potential match, this can be used to ID uncompliant suspects as well, as long so the individual is within the police database.
- Finger print dust, which can be used on commonly touched surfaces within a crime scene, such as door handles, firearms, weapon shafts etc., and run under black light in order to find fingerprints.
- Evidence bags, used to store evidence securely, and ensure that it can not be contaminated.
- Latex gloves, these would be used to handle evidence and ensure evidence is not contaminated by detectives.
- Basic tools such as, cotton swabs, and tweezers which can be used to gather forensic evidence such as blood, and hair follicles.

The detectives tool kit would certainly be subject to change if approved however this is just a base suggestion, intended to include room for improvement in the future.



What benefits would this idea have for the department:

The benefits I can see by adding an in game investigations unit would be endless. For starters it increases the professionalism and quality of the department as a whole, and gives officers more options when on their daily patrols. On a more community wide scale it allows for higher RP standards for those who are interested, and would incentivize individuals to create more scenarios where complex investigations may be required. More importantly it gives the department an organized and professional means to handle complex investigations, similar to how TFU handles shootouts.

What potential negatives could this have for the department:

I don't see any downsides to my personal suggestion, as I have taken some extra time to ensure that it would require minimal development time, wasting the communities resources. However if anyone has any concerns feel free to bring them up! I may have addressed your concern in my own document however due to sheer length not included it on this thread, I will be more than willing to answer any questions that may arise as a result of this!

Other additions:

Hopefully this is given an equal opportunity and fair judgement as I believe it would prove to be nothing but beneficial not only for the department but community as a whole.

 

[Deleted member 5577]

It doesn't really make sense to have a whole new division with no new equipment at least give them the DNA tool or something if this really has to be added but I think at the moment there is already an adequate amount of investigation taking place and there really isn't much that officers can do seeing as they can't use civ witnesses, most can't get DNA and once DNA is collected that's really the end of the investigation there's no need for a whole new division.

 

[Bert]

It doesn't really make sense to have a whole new division with no new equipment at least give them the DNA tool or something if this really has to be added but I think at the moment there is already an adequate amount of investigation taking place and there really isn't much that officers can do seeing as they can't use civ witnesses, most can't get DNA and once DNA is collected that's really the end of the investigation there's no need for a whole new division.

The whole point of this suggestion is to expand RP and allow for more complex investigations to take place. In response to the claim that investigations already happen, I think it can be widely accepted that this just simply isn't true on a large scale basis. Adding this division would simply be a resource for officers to have trained individuals that can perform investigations to assist in making arrests with 100% accuracy. Similar to how RTU is trained with traffic related incidents or TFU with firearms! A DNA tool would actually be a pretty decent idea, however I didn't take that into account while writing the original suggestion document, as it was intended to be much more of an RP oriented division, expanding investigations beyond just creating a warrant after using a DNA tool, aimed with improving the quality of RP and improving the experience of players within the community, I have since added the DNA tool to my own document! Thanks for posting some constructive feedback

 

[S U B I E✨]

-Neutral,
I don't see this happening, there is so much more to it than just taking blood samples that it will be too complicated for me to explain and for someone to implement in perpheads.

 

[Bert]

-Neutral,
I don't see this happening, there is so much more to it than just taking blood samples that it will be too complicated for me to explain and for someone to implement in perpheads.

I personally have been spending a lot more time on DOJRP on FiveM, and this experience has given me a lot of insight into how this division could operate as a whole, with that being said it would work fine without perp. And as I explained in the thread itself this is meant to ensure that minimal implementation is actually required outside of documents I have prepared myself. Nearly no external development is actually required! And as I mentioned previously towards lil chickens comment this is mostly an RP oriented division designed to provide officers with the resources required to perform complex investigations such as bank robberies, and homicides! While also giving civilians the means to create more elaborate RP situations if they so choose!

 

[JeanMacron]

I like this idea.

In my experience as a police dispatcher, I occasionally come across some PLPD officers who would like to adopt a more investigative approach to policing, and I think the addition of this suggestion would allow that to happen.

As well as high profile crimes mentioned in the post such as hostage situations, homicides and the like, I think the CIU should also take responsibility for lesser crimes which do require investigation.

For example, I often find that there are wanted citizens in the database. As a police dispatcher, I don't know who to contact about this. Of course a patrol unit or TFU could be called, but they are often dealing with traffic stops or shoot outs. A CIU agent dedicated to investigating, tracking down, and arresting warranted citizens would fill this gap perfectly! Also, yesterday I received a number of 911 calls regarding 'misfires' at certain addresses. A CIU agent could be contacted to visit the address and find out what is going on.

Moreover, when first starting as a police dispatcher I struggled to wrap my head around the current system for taking DNA. Higher ranking officers and paramedics are able to take DNA, but I would argue that this is a bit of a strange system. Why can only seargeants+ look for DNA? A CIU agent should have access to the DNA tool to aid them in their investigations, and their role would be much better suited to having a DNA tool as opposed to limiting it to higher ranks and paramedics.

In terms of evidence and forensics, I believe there is a good addon on Gmod store for that. However, I doubt it would have a place on Perpheads which strives to create custom content itself. Perhaps a similar custom addon could be custom created with inspiration from the gmod store addon to be more specific to Perp?

With regards to potential downsides, I think that if this was added the PLPD could become saturated with wannabe detectives leaving no TFU or traffic officers available. To prevent a unfortunate ratio of CIU : standard PLPD, I think the rank structure outlined by the original poster should be adopted. Additionally, could there be a limit imposed on the number of CIU agents perhaps hard coded or controlled by the Mayor?

Overall, I think this specialist investigations role would be of great benefit to the PLPD and encourage better RP.

 

[S U B I E✨]

I personally have been spending a lot more time on DOJRP on FiveM, and this experience has given me a lot of insight into how this division could operate as a whole, with that being said it would work fine without perp. And as I explained in the thread itself this is meant to ensure that minimal implementation is actually required outside of documents I have prepared myself. Nearly no external development is actually required! And as I mentioned previously towards lil chickens comment this is mostly an RP oriented division designed to provide officers with the resources required to perform complex investigations such as bank robberies, and homicides! While also giving civilians the means to create more elaborate RP situations if they so choose!

But making it so that you can either join CIU or TFU, that I don't agree with. I think that TFU should have knowledge in taking some evidence like bullet casings

 

[Bert]

I like this idea.

In my experience as a police dispatcher, I occasionally come across some PLPD officers who would like to adopt a more investigative approach to policing, and I think the addition of this suggestion would allow that to happen.

As well as high profile crimes mentioned in the post such as hostage situations, homicides and the like, I think the CIU should also take responsibility for lesser crimes which do require investigation.

For example, I often find that there are wanted citizens in the database. As a police dispatcher, I don't know who to contact about this. Of course a patrol unit or TFU could be called, but they are often dealing with traffic stops or shoot outs. A CIU agent dedicated to investigating, tracking down, and arresting warranted citizens would fill this gap perfectly!

Moreover, when first starting as a police dispatcher I struggled to wrap my head around the current system for taking DNA. Higher ranking officers and paramedics are able to take DNA, but I would argue that this is a bit of a strange system. Why can only seargeants+ look for DNA? A CIU agent should have access to the DNA tool to aid them in their investigations, and their role would be much better suited to having a DNA tool as opposed to limiting it to higher ranks and paramedics.

In terms of evidence and forensics, I believe there is a good addon on Gmod store for that. However, I doubt it would have a place on Perpheads which strives to create custom content itself. Perhaps a similar custom addon could be custom created with inspiration from the gmod store addon to be more specific to Perp?

With regards to potential downsides, I think that if this was added the PLPD could become saturated with wannabe detectives leaving no TFU or traffic officers available. To prevent a unfortunate ratio of CIU : standard PLPD, I think the rank structure outlined by the original poster should be adopted. Additionally, could there be a limit imposed on the number of CIU agents perhaps hard coded or controlled by the Mayor?

Overall, I think this specialist investigations role would be of great benefit to the PLPD and encourage better RP.

As you mentioned in your downsides this could lead to a lot of saturation in terms of leaving no TFU or Traffic officers. For the most part I don't think this will be much of an issue, as everyone joins another division for particular reasons for example TFO's enjoy firefights, this would be an alternative to officers who are interested in more serious RP! The application process would also be designed to ensure that no one can just join just to join! The collection of forensic evidence would also be entirely RP based, unless Fredy and the gang really wanted to pour time and effort into developing a system like that, however I find it to be unnecessary and it can just as well be accomplished via solid RP by detectives! I appreciate your constructive response though!

 

[Misel]

Division Coordinator
The CIU coordinator would be equivalent to a normal division head, with a fancier name to be more realistic to what you may find in an investigations division within the real world. This position would be filled by a Lieutenant, and this individual would be a functioning member of Tactical Operations working closely with the head of department in order to progress the division as a whole. This individual would be responsible for coordinating all policies, personnel, and operations within the division. While also enforcing quality control within the division as a whole.

Assistant Coordinator
The CIU assistant coordinator would be ideally filled by a Staff Sergeant within the PLPD, or alternatively a Sergeant (as I am not sure that CoD's have plans to use Staff Sergeant in administrative roles) This individual would be the second in command of the division as a whole, and would have the same duties as the coordinator, however they would lack the power to veto the coordinator.

Wouldn't the division need a captain? So I think it would be better if it was Division Coordinator = Captain and Assistant Coordinator = Lieutenant or it only has a captain like the TFU has.

 

[Bert]

But making it so that you can either join CIU or TFU, that I don't agree with. I think that TFU should have knowledge in taking some evidence like bullet casings

That's not what limiting joining either TFU or CIU was proposed for. I simply proposed that idea to ensure that people weren't just joining both of the sub divisions and going inactive in one while they played actively in the other. This is only a temporary solution and would be discussed further if approved with the head of tac ops. In terms of evidence collection, TFU are not trained in evidence collection and storage, nor would they be required to write a report on investigations therefore they don't need to remove bullet casings from the scene of a crime, however it should be noted that all officers can do this as long so properly handled, and delivered to investigations for a more in depth investigation to be performed.

 

[Bert]

Wouldn't the division need a captain? So I think it would be better if it was Division Coordinator = Captain and Assistant Coordinator = Lieutenant or it only has a captain like the TFU has.

No dis towards the ranking structure we currently have but I was trying to make this as realistic as possible, I find the use of captains within the department to be far too common, and I believe that TFU should also be lead by a Lieutenant instead of a captain, therefore reducing the complexion of the ranking structure, as well as the number of captains. (I really just think that all secondary divisions should be lead by a lieutenant is a simple way to put it.) However if department administration felt as though the coordinator should be a Captain this isn't something I would be apposed to. However I still think assistant coordinator should remain a Sergeant/Staff Sergeant regardless to reduce the number of command members. Hopefully I was able to somewhat answer your concern.

 

[JeanMacron]

As you mentioned in your downsides this could lead to a lot of saturation in terms of leaving no TFU or Traffic officers. For the most part I don't think this will be much of an issue, as everyone joins another division for particular reasons for example TFO's enjoy firefights, this would be an alternative to officers who are interested in more serious RP! The application process would also be designed to ensure that no one can just join just to join! The collection of forensic evidence would also be entirely RP based, unless Fredy and the gang really wanted to pour time and effort into developing a system like that, however I find it to be unnecessary and it can just as well be accomplished via solid RP by detectives! I appreciate your constructive response though!

Yeah, good point regarding specialisation based on preference. The issue of leaving no other officers could certainly be avoided easily. Regarding the RP based evidence gathering, I personally think that would really sell this idea short. At the very least the CIU should be responsible for the DNA tool, even if the forensic system is too much to ask for.

EDIT: Sorry, misinterpreted what you said regarding RP evidence gathering so I will rephrase below.

In addition to stakeouts / investigations / searching for wanted suspects, I believe the role should be supplemented with the DNA tool if not a proper forensics system.

 

[Bert]

Yeah, good point regarding specialisation based on preference. The issue of leaving no other officers could certainly be avoided easily. Regarding the RP based evidence gathering, I personally think that would really sell this idea short. At the very least the CIU should be responsible for the DNA tool, even if the forensic system is too much to ask for.

EDIT: Sorry, misinterpreted what you said regarding RP evidence gathering so I will rephrase below.

In addition to stakeouts / investigations / searching for wanted suspects, I believe the role should be supplemented with the DNA tool if not a proper forensics system.

I totally agree that the DNA tool should be apart of the toolkit, I just don't want it to be something that they solely rely on for performing RP related investigations!

 

[travis]

I really do like this idea, it's well put and quite intricate as well. I'm sure this will have to take a LOT of development work for it to be functional in perp with proper addition of the investigative tools instead of using /mes etc. It'll take a while but I think of it like re-working the drug system.

 

[Bert]

I really do like this idea, it's well put and quite intricate as well. I'm sure this will have to take a LOT of development work for it to be functional in perp with proper addition of the investigative tools instead of using /mes etc. It'll take a while but I think of it like re-working the drug system.

The whole point would to have minimal development required. /me's would be acceptable in my own eyes. I took quite a bit of inspiration from the way things are run on DOJRP and this system works really well. The only thing that really would require development would be the gearing up function, and creating a new model, both of which would be extremely easy using already avaliable assets.

 

[Mina]

I do like the idea but I don't think this will actually be done. Perp is fast paced, investigating situations throughly will take time and in many situations the offender is already made clear from DNA or Officers witnessing the actions take place, meaning 9 times out of 10 there is no need for much investigation into crimes committed. Even with incident reports, they wouldnt be much help in the situations and basically just be a hassle for Officers, say in a bank robbery as the offenders are already warranted immediately. If they removed this feature and allowed further more in depth investigation into a robbery it would take more time to figure out who did what, warrant them and then try and arrest them, inevitably allowing the offenders to get their reward before the officers are even aware they are the suspects.

I believe that it would be too much work for a server like PERP. I could see how it would work on FiveM easier but on PERP there is only a certain amount of 'realism' you can have until it becomes overwhelming.

I think the system is fine as it and /me's and the DNA tool work well in the investigations carried out by Officers in the situations that happen regularly on the server so there isn't much need for this. Also this concept for Dectectives has already been suggested a few times before and been denied so I really dont see this happening.

Although I don't really see this happening, I would like to see them add small things here and there that help with investigations into situations that currently are a little tricky to deal with.

 

[JeanMacron]

Hey. Was just walking past PD and observed this. Reminded me of this suggestion.

A trio of officers have exhibited exemplary RP material here, laying out evidence markers, creating a crime scene, and conducting proper investigations to get to the bottom of the travesty which has occured.

I think this only goes to show that proper implementation of a CIU agency would be great for RP. Imagine seeing this sort of top tier RP throughout the city.

EDIT: Post above did not age well...

 

[Mina]

Hey. Was just walking past PD and observed this. Reminded me of this post.

A trio of officers have exhibited exemplary RP material here, laying out evidence markers, creating a crime scene, and conducting proper investigations to get to the bottom of the travesty which has occured.

I think this only goes to show that proper implementation of a CIU agency would be great for RP. Imagine seeing this sort of top tier RP throughout the city.

EDIT: Post above did not age well...

This situation is only called for DNA to be taken and an arrest to be made/Warrant to be placed. Yes, closing the situation off and adding names etc maybe adding some props to the server would help lay out a crime scene but adding an entire division focused around investigation isn't needed. beside the corpses would cause for some good RP doesn't mean that it would work in all situations. Most of the time this is how investigations go down anyways, where officers clear the scene and take DNA, asking questions to people who witnessed anything. The system is simple and works with the server. Adding a new division solely based on investigation when all officers are capable of doing so, just like in this post, isn't really needed.

 

[Bert]

I do like the idea but I don't think this will actually be done. Perp is fast paced, investigating situations throughly will take time and in many situations the offender is already made clear from DNA or Officers witnessing the actions take place, meaning 9 times out of 10 there is no need for much investigation into crimes committed. Even with incident reports, they wouldnt be much help in the situations and basically just be a hassle for Officers, say in a bank robbery as the offenders are already warranted immediately. If they removed this feature and allowed further more in depth investigation into a robbery it would take more time to figure out who did what, warrant them and then try and arrest them, inevitably allowing the offenders to get their reward before the officers are even aware they are the suspects.

I believe that it would be too much work for a server like PERP. I could see how it would work on FiveM easier but on PERP there is only a certain amount of 'realism' you can have until it becomes overwhelming.

I think the system is fine as it and /me's and the DNA tool work well in the investigations carried out by Officers in the situations that happen regularly on the server so there isn't much need for this. Also this concept for Dectectives has already been suggested a few times before and been denied so I really dont see this happening.

Although I don't really see this happening, I would like to see them add small things here and there that help with investigations into situations that currently are a little tricky to deal with.

The whole point of the division would be to offer the opportunity to expand RP beyond just filing a warrant and making an arrest. It would give people the opportunity to perform some quality RP without much work being needed. In terms of PD command work if they are truly interested I have already wrote a complete document in my spare time including basic training, application, oreintation, promotion guidelines, and basic policies. I think PERP is honestly a better environment to implement something like this, it only bolsters the RP for those who are truly interested in it, and gives perpheads just another feature to set it apart from the rest.

 

[JeanMacron]

This situation is only called for DNA to be taken and an arrest to be made/Warrant to be placed. Yes, closing the situation off and adding names etc maybe adding some props to the server would help lay out a crime scene but adding an entire division focused around investigation isn't needed. beside the corpses would cause for some good RP doesn't mean that it would work in all situations. Most of the time this is how investigations go down anyways, where officers clear the scene and take DNA, asking questions to people who witnessed anything. The system is simple and works with the server. Adding a new division solely based on investigation when all officers are capable of doing so, just like in this post, isn't really needed.

I believe the concept of the CIU agency would be to promote better roleplay experiences as shown in the picture I posted. Perp is renowned for offering high quality serious RP to it's users. You say all officers are capable of setting up a crime scene, but why is it that they rarely do it? With the CIU agency, there would be a dedicated department to work with the PLPD officers and constantly set up crime scenes and the like, which would undoubtedly promote better roleplay which is something this community strives to offer.

Moreover, it seems you are under the impression that any time a crime is commited, the CIU would have to be called to conduct an investigation. This is not the case. Officers will still, as you described, be able to ask questions to witnesses, request for DNA to be taken and clear the scene, but the purpose of the CIU as described in the original post is not to conduct low level investigations like this. The CIU would be responsible for high profile investigations into highly wanted criminals, they would be responsible for gathering DNA at majour crime scenes as shown in the picture, and would inevitably be responsible for creating better roleplay situations as opposed to the current culture in the PLPD which is to arrive at the scene, deal with it, confiscate weapons etc then return to patrol.

You argue that a division for investigation is not needed, but I can't agree with you. While playing as police dispatch, I find myself requiring officers to investigate something a little further than they usually would, I have personally witnessed officers requesting to be assigned to incidents that would require more investigation. The creation of a CIU agency would fill the investigative gap which there are clearly players searching for.

Additionally, just because the current system is simple and works with the server does not mean it should not be improved. The developers are more than capable of adding a new role to the PLPD, reassigning the DNA tool to a unit who should logically have it, and perhaps in the long term adding a fully fledged investigation system.