NCJ Number
183878
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 69 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2000 Pages: 6-8
Date Published
June 2000
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The Colorado Department of Corrections established its own Criminal Investigation Division (CID) in the early 1990’s to deal with the challenges involved in the use of outside law enforcement officers to investigate felony crimes committed within prisons by inmates.
Abstract
These challenges include outside agencies’ lack of time and resources to investigate prison crimes, their lack of understanding of the physical layout and daily operations of the prison, the existence of a subculture of hardened criminals who differ substantially from exists on the street, and the code of silence that keeps most inmates from talking to the police due to fear of punishment by death. Colorado correctional investigators began sharing intelligence information and demonstrating their usefulness to outside police agencies starting in the 1980’s. CID now has 34 employees, including 25 criminal investigators with extensive law enforcement backgrounds and certifications from the State’s peace officers Standards and Training Board. Drug law offenses represent about 70 percent of the CID investigator’s caseload. A gang coordinator at each prison monitors the activities of gang members. CID also investigate assault, sexual assault, felony theft, fraud, bribery, escape, bank robbery, and murder for hire both inside and outside the prison. CID has successfully resolved several hundred cases each year. The CID has much to offer to any agency seeking intelligence and assistance in monitoring career criminals and can serve as a resource for other States. Photograph