Professional Law Enforcement
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Location  |
1912 Holiday Lane    West Plains, MO 65775     Phone:  (417) 256-2244     Fax:  (417) 257-2194

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The Detective Division consists of a group of highly trained investigators. The West Plains Police Department Detective Division is under the direction of the Assistant Chief of Police - Darrell Jones who is responsible for the overall operation of the division.

The primary function of the Detective Division is to conduct follow-up investigations of crimes. Cases are reviewed by the Assistant Chief of Police and screened for solvability factors. Detectives are then assigned cases based on those solvability factors.

Every case is important to the Detectives investigating the crimes. Their first priority is to take care of the victims and protect the innocent. This is the core value of the Detective Division of the West Plains Police Department.

When the Detectives are assigned cases, they make contact the victims and introduce themselves and conduct a follow-up interview and discuss the preliminary aspects of the cases. The Detectives then begin to examine and explore solvability factors of their cases and follow any leads that are present. These leads are often in the form of witness information, physical evidence (fingerprints, DNA, etc.), apparent methods of operation (MO), or a strong intuitive feeling of the Detective that is based on their knowledge, training and experience.

In criminal investigations the division works with many other agencies to investigate its cases and to network information. When necessary the division works with State and Federal Law Enforcement agencies such as Missouri State Highway Patrol DDCC, INS, IRS, DEA, FBI, and ATF. All Detectives work very closely with the Howell County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. This helps to ensure that the cases come to proper adjudication.

While it is difficult to truly reflect in words the energy that our detectives put into their assignments, their accomplishments tend to speak for themselves.

Investigations