Special Investigations
The Special Investigations Division is under the Command of Deputy Chief Reggie Burgess, Captain David Bollinger, Captain Patrick Nathan, and Lieutenants Scott Deckard, James Walley, Delmar Johnson, and George Tetanich. The Division is responsible for the investigation of all criminal offenses reported to the police department. The Division is divided in to 2 Bureaus: Detective Bureau and Special Operations Bureau.
The Detective Bureau consists of the following investigative sections: Persons Crimes, Juvenile Crimes, Property Crimes, White Collar/Fraud Crimes, Harbor Patrol, School Resource Officers, Youth Court, Crime Scene Investigation, Youth Alcohol Program (YAP), Safe Streets, Project Sea Hawk, and Victim Advocate.
The Special Operations Bureau consists of the following sections: Narcotics, SPEED Team, ATF, DEA, Crime Prevention, K-9, and Traffic.
Narcotics
The Narcotics Unit serves the citizens of North Charleston by actively participating in the attack on illegal drug sale, use, and trafficking operations in the City of North Charleston. Members of the Narcotics unit work collectively with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to identify, apprehend, and convict persons charged with illegal drug activity. Citizens can contact the Narcotics team with information about drug activities, by calling our Drug & Narcotics Tip Line at (843)308-4708. Residents can give information without having to identify themselves. For more information, please call (843) 745-1070.
S.P.E.E.D.
The S.P.E.E.D. Team is a Community orientated Based Unit comprised of a sergeant, corporal and eight officers from the North Charleston Police Department. The City of North Charleston has ten council members assigned to ten separate districts within the City. Each Team member is assigned a district and attends regularly scheduled meetings within his or her district. Team member receive feedback from the community and as an entire unit attempts to solve problems within each community.
The Team also builds criminal intelligence within the City for the purpose of anticipating and preventing criminal activity. With the police and community sharing the responsibility for identifying and eliminating the problems which impact the neighborhoods, the incidence of crime, fear, and over all quality of life continue to improve. For more information, please call (843) 745-1079.
Juvenile
The Juvenile unit is responsible for investigating crimes committed by juveniles. Juvenile Investigators are tasked with defending and protecting those who do not have a voice due to their age or mental condition. Investigators also handle incidents of crimes against the elderly. For more information, please call (843) 740-2834.
Crimes Against Persons
The Crimes Against Persons Unit is responsible for the continuous investigation of criminal acts committed against the person, for example: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and other sex offenses. "Persons," as it is known, is also responsible for the investigation of missing persons reports, and certain other cases. Additionally, the unit is responsible for preparing these cases for prosecution. For more information, please call (843) 740-2864.
Crimes Against Property
The Property Crimes Unit is responsible for continuous investigation of crimes of theft, burglary and possession of stolen property, fraud, and acts of vandalism and arson. The unit strives to identify those responsible for these acts, pursue successful prosecution of them, and recover property and restitution for victims when appropriate. For more information, please call (843) 740-2856.
Financial Crimes Unit
The Financial Crimes Unit is responsible for investigating financial crimes against persons and/or businesses such as bank robbery, transaction frauds, stolen credit card, forgery, breach of trust and financial identity theft. The Financial Crimes Unit has also become involved in the prosecution of computer crimes. For more information, please call (843) 740-2867.
School Resource Officer
The School Resource Officer Program is a Community Oriented Policing approach practiced in the school environment. This program allows the youth in our community to interact with officers in a positive, non-enforcement role.
The School Resource officer program goals include: building rapport between students, the school system, and the law enforcement profession; increasing a positive attitude toward law enforcement; encouraging more cooperation between the youth of the community and law enforcement officers; reducing juvenile crime through counseling, teaching and demonstrating a personal interest in the well being of students; and enforcing the law on campus. For more information, please call (843) 740-2820.
Victim Advocate
The Victim's Advocacy Unit serves as a liaison between the State and the victim. Advocates help the victim with different aspects of the court system, and are there to give support to the victim and families at crime scenes or at the hospital. They are familiar with all statutes pertaining to victim rights and ensure that those rights are being carried out. They also help victims obtain victim compensation funds.
The goal of the NCPD Victim Advocate is to extend to all victims their specific legal rights and to provide services that will effectively assist them in returning to a pre-crisis level of functioning. For more information, please call (843) 740-2824.
Traffic
The Traffic unit conducts enforcement and public safety awareness training. Officers assigned to this unit work closely with the local community providing traffic control and escort services for funerals, parades, and community events.
Traffic accidents and traffic congestion continue to be a concern of the citizens of North Charleston. The department implemented the Problem Oriented Traffic Enforcement Program to reduce accidents, respond to neighborhood complaints and increase presence in school zones. This program focused police resources in three areas: high crash locations, neighborhood complaints and school zones. The traffic unit aggressively worked at the established high crash area's citing and video taping violators. The tapes were used in courtroom testimony, as well as the media, in an effort to educate the community. In 2003, there were no major accidents in school zones in the entire city due in large part to the large police presence. Through aggressive enforcement of traffic laws, the goal of the Traffic Unit is to continue to educate the public and provide professional and safe service for the citizens of North Charleston. For more information, please call (843) 745-1077.
K-9
Our Canine Unit became a functioning unit of the Traffic Division during 1998. The Department currently has nine canine teams. Each team member is partnered with and works exclusively with his/her own dog. The canines provide service with our Narcotics Bureau, Uniform Patrol, Hazardous Device Unit and S.P.E.E.D. Team. The dogs are also very popular with the hundreds of school children in the Low Country frequently malting appearances at schools and various City sponsored public events. For more information, please call (843) 745-1098.
Seahawk
The North Charleston Police Department has joined a worldwide security effort at the State Ports Authority that reaches throughout the supply chain, from the shipping point for cargo to its destination. The program's goal is to ensure that the content of cargo containers is not tampered with.
The Project Seahawk Task Force was created to investigate suspicious cargo, vessels, and persons that might threaten the port, with participation by the FBI, Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Coast Guard, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, local law enforcement and other federal, state and local agencies. "Project Seahawk", a law enforcement information sharing initiative, screens cargo for radiological, chemical and biological weapons.
Harbor Patrol
The Harbor Patrol Unit promotes safety and compliance of laws on the waterways in the City of North Charleston. The unit also effects rescues on local waterways and serves as a support unit to other divisions of the police department as well as other city and government agencies.
Safe Streets
The mission of the Safe Streets Unit is to be a resource for individuals, families, communities and other organizations in North Charleston to develop, mobilize and maintain strategies to reduce and eliminate illegal drug and gang activity and associated violence.
Youth Court
The Criminal Justice Act 1991 replaced the juvenile courts with the youth courts, and these now deal with offenders under the age of 17 years, whereas the juvenile courts handled cases involving children up to the age of 14 years. Juvenile courts handled care proceedings as well as criminal cases. Where the accused is under 17, the case will be heard in a youth court. These are special Courts which either sit apart from the other courts or are held at a different time. By law, a youth court cannot sit in a room that has been or will be used within the hour by another court. The underlying philosophy of the youth court is that the welfare of the young person is paramount. However, young offenders must still have their circumstances assessed in a room resembling a court. For more information, please call (843) 740-2852.