Criminal Investigations
The Investigative Services Division is commanded and directed by Deputy Chief Alfredo Alvear who maintains administrative duties for the sections and units. The Division includes several functions in addition to the follow-up investigations of crimes.
The goal of the Investigative Services Division is "to solve assigned offenses, the arrest and prosecution of persons charged, and the reduction of crime." Criminal offenses which require follow-ups are assigned to Investigators. A substantial amount of these cases are cleared by various means, such as arrest, filing with the District Attorney's Office, and by exceptional means. Investigators work all types of crimes from misdemeanors to capital felonies. Other duties include jail/prisoner processing, crime scene processing, case preparation, and responding to major incidents. The criteria and solvability factors which determine whether a case may be assigned for follow-up investigation include but are not limited to:
- Nature of Crime
- Suspect Information
- Property identification
- Witness information
- Presence of physical evidence
Organized Crimes
The Organized Crime Unit investigates crimes involving narcotics trafficking, prostitution and other vice-related operations. Their duties include intelligence gathering, street interdiction, undercover operations, asset forfeiture and seizures.
Sexual Offender Registration
An investigator is responsible for the registration of sexual offenders within our city limits. Additional information on Texas' Registered Sex offender population can be found on the DPS website, http://records.txdps.state.tx.us For additional information on accessing the secure website, contact the DPS Crime Records Service, CJIS, at 512-424-2478.
Crime Stoppers
The Crime Stoppers Program is designed to obtain information from those sources that have knowledge about area crimes. Crime Stoppers offers individuals anonymity and a financial reward for the information they provide. Crime Stoppers also solves crimes in our public school system through Campus Crime Stoppers. The Harlingen Area Crime Stoppers phone number is 956-425-TIPS.
Crime Victims Compensation
Crime Victims Compensation is a financial assistance program that helps eligible victims of crime with certain expenses related to the crime. Money for this program comes from court costs paid by criminals and deposited by each Texas county into the Crime Victims' Compensation Fund. Bea DeLeon is the department's Crime Victim's Liaison. She can be reached at 956-216-5421 or by email: bgarcia@harlingentx.gov
Twitter