The Los Alamitos Police Department’s Detective Bureau is staffed with a supervisor, two full-time detectives and one part-time civilian investigator. The Detective Bureau falls within the Operations Division and is overseen by the Police Captain. This unit is responsible for the investigation of crimes and preparation of cases for filing with the District Attorney’s Office and City Prosecutor. The Detective Sergeant is responsible for direct supervision and case management in this unit. He or she assigns cases, reviews reports, and carries their own caseload of reports to investigate. The Sergeant’s duties can also include personnel and background investigations, as well as other administrative assignments.

Investigations are generally classified into two groups: crimes against property and crimes against persons. Although one detective is assigned to each of these crime classifications, the detectives routinely cross over to assist each other with special cases or if a backlog occurs in one area.

Crimes against persons include assaults and batteries, sex crimes, domestic violence, child abuse, homicides, robbery, kidnapping, missing persons, and other crimes that involve violations against people.

Crimes against property include grand and petty thefts, residential and commercial burglaries, vandalism, and other crimes that involve a loss of or damage to property. The majority of crimes in Los Alamitos fall into this category.

The part-time Civilian Investigator is assigned to investigate crimes against property, specifically economic crimes such as forgery or fictitious checks.

Detectives are assigned to the Detective Bureau on a three-year rotation. While assigned to the Bureau, they generally work four ten-hour days per week.