Criminal Investigation Division Commander
Deputy Chief Cindy Gass
[email protected]
865-215-7055
Deputy Chief Cindy Gass is the Division Commander for the Knoxville Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division, which includes the Violent Crimes Unit, Property Crimes Unit, Forensics, Crime Analysis, Organized Crime Unit, Special Crimes Unit, and Internet Crimes Against Children Unit. She began her career in law enforcement in 1979 and has 43 years of experience with the Knoxville Police Department. Positions held within the department include patrol officer, patrol sergeant, patrol lieutenant, criminal investigator, juvenile investigator, property crimes investigator, Teleserve supervisor, Negotiation Unit Commander, West District Commander, Captain, Deputy Chief, and Management Services Division Commander. Deputy Chief Gass was also responsible for implementing and commanding the police department’s Peer Support Team. She attended Bellevue University where she received a B.S. Degree in Criminal Justice Administration.
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The Criminal Investigation Division is responsible for performing the investigative functions of the Knoxville Police Department. This division has the second largest number of personnel and is comprised of investigators, specialists, technicians, supervisors, and support staff. Members of the Criminal Investigation Division answer citizen complaints, respond to crime scenes, and investigate cases referred by the Patrol Division.
DIVISION UNITS
Captain John Kiely
[email protected]
865-215-7020
• Violent Crimes Unit
(murder, rape, robbery, assault, kidnapping, suicide, and other sudden suspicious deaths)
• Property Crimes Unit
(auto theft, forgery and fraud, pawn shop, burglary and larceny, and metal theft detail)
• Forensic Unit
(crime scene processing, fingerprint identification, firearms identification, photo lab, and polygraph detail)
• Crime Analysis Unit
(obtain and analyze as much information as possible, in order to identify crime patterns, trends, offenders, and develop correlations, to improve short term and long term decision making, and the ability of the Department to manage, allocate, and deploy resources so that criminal activities can be stopped)
Captain Tony Willis
[email protected]
865-673-9168
• Organized Crime Unit
(narcotics, federal task forces, firearms investigative team, gang/intelligence and internet crimes against children detail)
• Special Crimes Unit
(child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, missing persons and human trafficking)
• Internet Crimes Against Children
(technology-facilitated child exploitation)
Each case is reviewed for solvability factors and is assigned to an investigator for follow-up based on the type of crime and the investigator's expertise. Members of the division conduct interviews and lawful searches during an investigation to gather information or evidence useful in reconstructing the occurrence or circumstances of an illegal act. The primary duties of an investigator include: the apprehension of offenders, recovery of stolen property, preparation of cases for court prosecutions, and presentation of evidence in court cases.