Criminal Investigation Bureau
Adult Investigations | Financial Crimes | High School Counselor | Juvenile Investigations | Peer Jury | Registered Sex Offenders
Adult Investigations
Adult investigations provide for the resolution of calls for police service that are beyond the limitations of patrol division personnel due to geography, expertise or time constraints. Adult investigation personnel conduct follow-up investigations primarily on criminal complaints involving persons over the age of 16 years. The majority of their time is dedicated to the unusually complex or more serious crimes. They are also responsible for addressing criminal activities they discover during the course of other follow-up investigations. Police personnel assigned to all sections of the Criminal Investigation Bureau are non-uniformed officers.
Financial Crimes
The Financial Crimes Unit of the Arlington Heights Police Department is part of the Criminal Investigation Bureau and is responsible for investigating the following crimes: Forgery, Deceptive Practice, Identity Theft, and Unlawful Use of Credit Cards. The unit’s main goals are the identification and apprehension of individuals committing these crimes. Secondly, but no less important, is the prevention of financial crimes through education and dissemination of information regarding current scams such as the overseas lottery scam, variations of the Nigerian 419 scam, Internet “phishing” scams and foreign lotteries and overpayment fraud. The Financial Crimes Unit will also assist local merchants who have been the victim of Non-sufficient Fund or Closed Account checks, having a total of $5000.00 or more, by investigating these cases as criminal matters. Checks totaling less than $5000.00 are referred to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Bad Check Program, www.checkprogram.com/cookcountyil, whose goal is to obtain full restitution for the victim without adding to the financial burden of the criminal justice system. (If you are the victim of check fraud that has occurred in Arlington Heights, go to the
Document Center and download the Check Fraud Information Packet containing information and guidelines to expedite an investigation by the Arlington Heights Police Department.)
High School Counselor
The High School Police Counselors serve as an educational liaison between the school community and the Arlington Heights Police Department. The police counselors are expected to enforce state laws, municipal ordinances and school rules and policies. The police counselors must be able to work with various local police agencies, students, parents and the school staff. The police counselors will advise students in social and legal matters that concern them. Presentations will be made to students, parents and staff regarding law enforcement, safety and good citizenship. Troubled students will be referred to proper professional help within the student services division of the school. The police counselors will investigate and follow-up on complaints, reports and information on crimes and activities received by the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Arlington Heights Police Department.
Juvenile Investigations
The Arlington Heights Police Department advocates an expanded, enlightened role by law enforcement in matters of juvenile delinquency, anchored particularly in a formal juvenile section and developed by trained, expert youth investigators. The department believes that this approach will aid in the prevention of delinquency, protect the constitutional rights of juveniles and divert the less serious juvenile offenders in the most appropriate manner. The Arlington Heights Police Department has established a juvenile section within the Criminal Investigation Bureau to facilitate the goal of diverting youthful offenders away from delinquent behavior through counseling, education and social service referrals. The juvenile section includes general assignment youth investigators, as well as police counselors assigned as liaisons to John Hersey High School, Forest View Educational Center and Timber Ridge School. Personnel assigned to the Juvenile Investigations branch also conduct follow up investigations on serious crimes involving juvenile victims, utilizing various community resources, including the Children’s Advocacy Center. Victim-sensitive interviews are conducted at the Advocacy Center by a trained interviewer. An advocate is also assigned to each case and provides any necessary social services to the child victim and family. A staff physician is available for medical exams of victims. You can visit the
Children’s Advocacy Center web site.
Peer Jury
The Peer Jury Program operating under the auspices of the Arlington Heights Police Department is designed to provide a meaningful and remedial method of dealing with selected juvenile offenders under the age of 17 years. Young offenders appearing before the Peer Jury are not referred to Cook County Juvenile Court. Conversely, Peer Jury does not determine the guilt or innocence of the individual. A case is sent to the Peer Jury for a hearing before eight juvenile jurors and an adult moderator only when: (1) the offender admits to committing the offense; (2) the Police Juvenile Officer determines that such a disposition is appropriate; (3) the offender and his or her parents or guardian consent in writing to such a disposition; and (4) the youth is a first-time offender. When the above four conditions are met, the offending youth and his or her parent(s) or guardian are scheduled for a hearing. These hearings are confidential and not open to the public. Peer Jury convenes on the first Wednesday of each month in the Police Department Training Room. At the hearing, a Juvenile Officer reads the charges and circumstances of the arrest, as well as possible consequences for an adult committing the same offense. The juvenile offender is then questioned by the jurors, after which the jurors deliberate to determine an appropriate punishment. Sentences usually consist of a number of hours of community service, and occasionally include a written essay and /or apology to the victim. Any high school age, Arlington Heights resident interested in serving as a peer juror may contact the Police Department Juvenile Section for more details.
Registered Sex Offenders
Available from our Maps/GIS page, our
Registered Sex Offenders map is viewable in PDF format. The Registered Sex Offender liaisons are Detectives Joe Pinnello and Sally Ward. They can be reached at
jpinnello@vah.com or
sward@vah.com.