Criminal Investigation Division (CID)

Mission
The mission of the Lynnwood Police Department Criminal Investigations Division is to deliver the highest quality of investigative service for the residential and business community of Lynnwood in order to hold accountable those who commit criminal offenses.

Detective Teachworth being interviewed by the media regarding a burglary investigation.

Personnel
Authorized staffing includes a commander of investigations, a sergeant in charge of crimes against persons, a sergeant in charge of crimes against property, three person’s crimes detectives, three property crimes detectives, one administrative detective, one domestic violence coordinator and one investigative assistant.

Activity

In 2008 case assignments were up 32% as compared to 2007. CID was able to accomplish this by being fully staffed, and through an excellent work ethic combined with a focus on case management. The division continued to emphasize a 45-day case turn-around benchmark resulting in timely, efficient and professional investigations.

Accomplishments and Cases of Interest:

Detectives investigated an internal theft from a coin machine vendor. The detective learned that hundreds of thousands of dollars had been stolen throughout the Western United States. The detective was able to identify the suspect, locate evidence of the crimes, arrest the suspect and recover approximately $250,000 in cash. The detective involved the Secret Service in this investigation and there are currently federal charges pending against the suspect.

Lynnwood detectives investigated a stabbing at a party in October. This was a chaotic incident with numerous witnesses and suspects. Within 24 hours detectives had arrested four suspects, including the primary suspect who was charged with 1st Degree Assault. The person’s crimes section assisted with a Mill Creek death investigation that ultimately was ruled as an accidental shooting. They also investigated a stabbing case in Brier, where a suspect has been charged with 2nd Degree Assault, Domestic Violence. Both of these cases indicate the trust that other agencies have in the quality of our investigators when they are seeking assistance.

Statistics	2007	2008	% Change
Assigned Cases	1,151	1,525	32%
Cleared Cases	1,191	1,569	32%
Physical Arrests	329	354	8%
Search Warrants Served	53	78	47%
Stolen Property Recovered	$171,195	$424,638	148%
Closure Type
Arrest/Adult	255	293	15%
Arrest/Juvenile	26	26	NA
Felony Charges Filed	81	88	9%
Misdemeanor Charges Filed	81	119	47%

Physical DV Statistics	2007	2008	% Change
Cases
Physical	531	477	-10%
Verbal	212	216	2%
New Victims	334	370	11%
Victim Gender
Victim - Female	314	358	14%
Victim - Male	115	120	4%
Defendant - Female	*	70	NA
Defendant - Male	*	221	NA
Victim Race
White	315	349	11%
Black	44	44	NA
Asian	26	24	-8%
Hispanic	38	47	24%
Other	4	13	225%
Victim Age Range
<19	78	68	-13%
20-29	144	157	9%
30-39	69	83	20%
40-49	81	114	41%
50-59	29	37	28%
60+	17	18	6%
Children
Children in House	177	153	-14%
Child Witness	124	127	2%
Adult Witnesses	268	264	-1%
Services Provided
Calls to Victim/Witness	1,741	1,667	-4%
In Person Contact	278	169	-39%
Letters	30	61	103%
Follow Up	130	61	-53%

Domestic Violence Coordinator
The Domestic Violence Coordinator serves as the liaison between the victims of domestic violence, the prosecutor’s office and the detectives investigating the case. Our Coordinator, Megan Sweeney, has a background in domestic violence advocacy and police and fire dispatching. As illustrated in the adjacent table, Megan was very active in 2008. Megan contacts all DV victims and is critical to the adjudication of these cases. Additionally, Megan advocates victim services and serves as a trainer in domestic violence classes sponsored by the Snohomish County Domestic Violence Task Force.

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