The Specialist Investigation Department is a branch of the
Criminal Investigation Department of a
British police force (although many use different names) which investigates crimes such as murder and sexual offences supplying specially trained officers to monitor known ex-offenders who have a history of sex offences. This unit could be considered the same as
Area Major Incident Pool of the
Metropolitan Police Service. The Specialist Investigation Officers use the prefix "
Detective" in front of their actual police rank. The team also responds to major investigations such as murder when divisional teams can not cope with the sheer amount of work.
Branches
SID branches (Names differ slightly between forces but the objectives remain the same):
Major Crime Team - Aid divisional CID in major cases such as murder.[1]
Hi-Tech Crime Unit (HTCU) -
Computer experts who monitor online sexual predators and assist the other teams in specialist computer monitoring.[3]
Public Protection Unit (PPU) - Specially trained detectives who monitor known ex-sexual offenders who have been released from prison.[4]
Organised Crime Unit - A team of officers who investigate
organised crime such as bank robberies and crimes involving drugs, committed by career criminals, but not by petty thieves.[5]
Vulnerability Unit - Officers who provide aftercare of the public and investigation into major crimes against children and
Domestic violence.[6]
Scientific Support Unit -
Forensic scientists who support the force in gathering crime scene
DNA linking the guilty with the crime and the place, which would often be crucial in court cases.[7]