Captain Edward Lacey commands the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) located at the Cherokee County South Government Annex. Captain Lacey has a Master's degree in Public Administration from Columbus State University. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and Georgia Association of Chief's of Police Command College. A leadership team comprised of Sergeants Phillip Oliver, Kim Grant, Joe McDonald and John Anderson assists Captain Lacey with supervisory responsibilities.

Detectives and Investigators of the Sheriff's Office are tasked with both following up on reports of criminal acts as well as taking proactive measures to prevent crime from occurring. Detectives are responsible for a plethora of case development activities to include locating and recovering stolen property, gathering forensic evidence from crime scenes, processing the forensic evidence and interrogating criminal suspects. Detectives compile and organize this information into a format easily presented to the courts for successful prosecution.

Assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division are detectives that specialize in crimes against children, crime scene investigation, burglary investigation, hostage negotiation, pawn shop management and auto theft. Currently, officers assigned to CID are seeking proficiency in cyber crime investigation, electronic surveillance, crime analysis and intelligence gathering. CID set a goal in 2002 to have an officer certified as an expert in the field of computer forensic examination. We met this goal and are now conducting computer forensic examinations. This has increased our response in dealing with internet fraud, counterfeiting and child pornography.

This year, officers of CID received specialized training conducted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The training prepared detectives in responding to custodial as well as non-custodial child abductions. CID applied for and received specialized computer equipment provided by the NCMEC. This allows CID to have direct online connections with the National database as well as other resources in the event of an abduction.

The Criminal Investigation Division has 23 assigned investigators for 2002. Each detective, on average, was assigned 222 cases.

In 2003, CID hopes to transition into an electronic case management system. This will mean an almost paperless workplace using digital voice recorders and cameras.

The Criminal Investigations Division continues to seek out cutting edge methods of investigation, crime analysis and forensics. In 2003, CID will have a continued and increased focus on technological crimes, crimes against children and domestic violence.