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Administration ] [
Personnel ] [
General Operations ] [
Field
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Criminal Investigations ] |
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Applicable
To: All sworn employees |
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Approval Authority: Interim Chief George N. Turner |
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Signature: Signed by GNT |
Date Signed: 5/3/10 |
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| Table of Content | |||
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To establish procedures for the investigation of reported crimes involving credit card fraud, mortgage fraud, computer fraud, forgery, flim flam, embezzlement, identity theft or any other fraud case that occurs within the City of Atlanta.
The Atlanta Police Department will promptly and thoroughly investigate all cases of fraud.
3.1 Patrol officers and police report technicians will document all complaints of fraud in accordance with written directive APD.SOP.3060 “Report Writing”.
3.2 The Central Records Unit will forward copies of all fraud reports to the Major Fraud Unit. Moreover, Central Records will forward copies of all fraud reports with an estimated value of less than $10,000 to the appropriate Zone Investigations Unit.
3.3 Zone investigators will primarily investigate fraud cases that are less than $10,000.
3.4 Major Fraud Unit will primarily investigate fraud cases with an estimated value of $10,000 or more. Moreover, the Major Fraud Unit will monitor fraud crime patterns and coordinate enforcement efforts with the Zone Investigations Unit.
3.5 Zone investigations and Major Fraud Unit commanders will track the disposition of all fraud cases investigated by their unit in accordance with APD.SOP.5010 “Criminal Investigations”.
3.6 Zone and Major Fraud investigations will investigate cases effectively and efficiently and follow through with the prosecution.
4.1 Patrol officers will document reports of fraud in accordance with APD SOP 3060 “Report Writing”. Police Report Technicians will document reports of fraud, received by telephone, when the victim calls from outside the city of Atlanta. (CALEA 5th ed. standard 42.2.8a)
4.2 The Central Records Unit will forward all fraud reports to the appropriate investigative unit based on the overall estimated value of the fraud and the zone of occurrence.
4.3 If the zone investigations unit discovers that a fraud case is estimated at $10,000 or more, the zone investigator will notify the Major Fraud Unit and complete the investigation.
4.4.1 Case Screening, Assignment and Filing
4.4.2 The unit commander or his or her designee will obtain a copy of every fraud report (GCIC Codes 2500, 2600 and 2700 series) from Central Records daily.
4.4.3 All cases will be screened in accordance with APD.SOP.5010 Criminal Investigations Division. If during the investigation, it is discovered the fraud is less than $10,000, the Major Fraud investigator will complete the investigation.
4.4.4 In instances where a case is $10,000 or more and it is not assigned to an investigator, a letter explaining the reason it is not assigned will be sent to the victim by the unit commander or designee. This letter will list the incident number, the Major Fraud Unit’s telephone number and a contact number for each of the three credit reporting agencies (Esperian Trans-Union and Equifax). Moreover, it will request any additional information and offer suggestions about how to reduce their chances of becoming a victim in the future. Any fraud case not assigned may be reopened at a later date if appropriate and supporting leads develop. (CALEA 5th ed. standard 42.2.8c)
4.4.5 The Major Fraud Unit will also handle the following cases if requested:
1. Fraud against the City of Atlanta
2. Any request from the Secret Service, FBI, U. S. Postal Inspectors, U. S. Customs, the governor’s office or other law enforcement agencies for assistance on a case inside the City. (CALEA 5th ed. standard 42.2.8d)
3. Any case referred to the Major Fraud Unit by command staff for special investigation.
4. Any case assigned by the unit commander for investigation.
4.5.1 Major Fraud investigators and the Zone investigator will thoroughly document the results of their investigations on Case Management in accordance with APD.SOP.5010 “Criminal Investigations Division”. If Case Management is inoperative the investigator will complete the Summary of Investigation Form (APD308). Investigators will submit the original document and a file copy to the unit commander. Originals of other documents, which are evidence, will be turned into Property Control Unit. Master files will be purged two years after final case disposition. Any original documents or items still in the file will be sent to either Central Records, Property Control Unit, or returned to the owner or other appropriate party prior to file destruction.
4.5.2 When an investigation produces sufficient information to clear a report, the investigator will complete the appropriate clear-up report in accordance with APD.SOP.3061 “Methods of Clearing a Crime”.
4.5.3 When an arrested person is accepted for prosecution by the Fulton County Complaint Room, the investigator responsible for the arrest and prosecution will prepare a complete prosecution folder. This folder will contain all reports, warrants, photographs, investigative notes and other documents necessary for the successful prosecution of the person arrested.
4.5.4 A complete prosecution “bind-over” package containing reports, warrants, photographs, investigative notes and other documents will be prepared for submission in all other cases submitted for prosecution in counties or jurisdictions other than Fulton County. These prosecution “bind-over” packages are due for submission to and review by the unit commander within 3 days of the initial arrest of any suspect who will not be prosecuted in Fulton County.
4.6.1 Unit commanders will ensure that the case database is updated and current entries are entered into the computer tracking system. All reports entered will include the following information:
1. Incident Number
2. Victim’s Name
3. Suspect’s Name
4. Zone/Beat
5. Form APD 308 (Summary of Investigation Form)
6. Due Date
7. Total Loss
8. UCR Class
9. Investigator/Zone Assigned
10. Suspect’s Address
11 Date Case Assigned
12. Report Classification
13. Case Status: A, E, I & U
4.6.2 Unit commanders will maintain a log of cases submitted for prosecution by investigators. The log will reflect all cases submitted to the Fulton County Complaint Room and indicate whether the case was accepted or declined. A record will be maintained in the log of all other cases involving bind-overs and prosecutions in other jurisdictions. All records will be maintained in accordance with the APD.SOP.1050 “Records Management and Retention.”
4.6.3 The unit commander or designee will maintain a copy of each fraud report in the unit’s master file.
4.7.1 The unit commander will conduct random monthly case file audits to ensure that all files are complete and accurate. The unit commander will check the file checklist and make sure that all necessary reports and documentation are in the file. The unit commander will contact the victim to confirm their notification as required by this directive, to provide the victim with a case status update or to solicit additional information. Moreover, the unit commander will make the appropriate entry in the unit’s audit log to denote a review of each case file.
4.8 The major fraud unit provides the public with information on the prevention of identity theft and other fraud related crimes. This information is provided through informational handouts at community meetings, civilian employee in-service, corporate training seminars and the Atlanta Police website. (CALEA 5th ed. standard 42.2.8e)
Fraud: any deliberate act resulting in the defrauding of any person or entity, to include credit card fraud, mortgage fraud, computer fraud, forgery, flim flam, embezzlement, identity theft or any other type of fraud.
APD SOP 5220 “Fraud Investigations”, issued December 1, 2007
APD.SOP.3060 Report Writing APD.SOP.3061 Methods of Clearing a Crime APD.SOP.5010 Criminal Investigations Division Summary of Investigation Form APD 308 CALEA 5th edition standard 42.2.8 |