The Parker County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is responsible for the following:

• Call-in and walk-in complaints during and after business hours
• Follow-up investigations on all classes of offenses
• Providing general investigative assistance to other law enforcement agencies in this and surrounding counties
• Sex offender registration and compliance

The Criminal Investigations Division is supervised by Captain Mark Arnett.

Case Procedure
Opening a Case
The Parker County Sheriff’s Office assigns cases to investigators who specialize in certain types of crime. Also assigned to CID are deputies who take walk-in complaints and telephone calls from the general public. As a rule, once a report of a crime is taken by the Patrol Division, the report is forwarded to the Records Division. The report is then filed, both on paper and electronically, and forwarded to CID for review and investigation.

Investigation
The report, or case, is investigated to the fullest extent possible by the investigator assigned. Once the investigator gathers enough evidence in the case to prove to a jury that the defendant committed the crime “beyond a reasonable doubt,” a warrant is requested through a local magistrate and the defendant is arrested.

Arrest
Once arrested, the defendant is arraigned before a magistrate (the defendant goes before a judge who reads the defendant his rights, tells him what he is accused of, and sets a bond amount on him) and can then bond out. Bond amounts vary due to the type of crime accused, criminal history, risk of flight to avoid prosecution, and other factors.

Prosecution
Once the defendant has been arrested, the investigator files the case with the appropriate prosecuting attorney’s office. For misdemeanor crimes, cases are filed with the Parker County Attorney’s Office, and for felony crimes, the case is filed with the Parker County District Attorney’s Office.

Building a Case
During the course of the investigation, investigators gather information from a myriad of sources. Investigators may get subpoenas for phone, business, medical, and/or financial records. Investigators work outside of the office most of the time, tracking down witnesses, victims, and suspects. Investigators may obtain search warrants, conduct photo line ups, and polygraph results in their investigation. Investigators work every type of the following cases as well as several other types of crimes: