The Crime Scene Unit is staffed by one Detective and four Crime Scene Investigators.  Unit members are primarily responsible for the identification, documentation, collection, and processing of physical evidence found at crime scenes.  They respond to many types of scenes including burglaries, armed robberies, homicides, shooting investigations, sexual battery cases, arsons, and suspicious deaths.

Members of the Crime Scene Unit are required to have basic Crime Scene Investigation training before they are hire, and receive hundreds of hours of additional training in specific topics related to their duties.  Training topics could include Death Investigation, Shooting Reconstruction, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, Latent Fingerprint Processing, Tire Track and Shoe Impression Analysis, and Forensic Photography, among many others.

Using the latest scientific and photographic equipment, team members analyze and document scenes in order to permanently record the condition of the scene as it is found, as well as to process for and recover physical evidence.  Members are responsible for the proper collection, packaging, documentation, and transportation of DNA evidence, latent fingerprints, clothing, weapons, and other evidentiary items related to criminal investigations. Available to respond 24 hours-a-day / 365 days-a-year, the unit is outfitted with the best investigative equipment to provide support to officers and detectives while in the field.

Each Crime Scene Investigator is issued a crime scene van fully equipped with the latest photography equipment, evidence detection/collection supplies, as well as respirators and biohazard personal protective gear. The Sunrise Crime Scene Unit also has a Major Response Vehicle, equipped with supplemental lighting, a laser scanner, an alternate light source, chemical processing supplies, and other advanced documentation and processing equipment for the most complex cases.  Recognized for performing one of the most hazardous jobs in law enforcement, Crime Scene Investigators have come to play an integral role in modern criminal investigations and are relied upon for their advanced training and expertise to identify and preserve critical evidence.

Crime Scene Investigators are required to testify in court under oath, to present evidence in depositions, at suppression hearings, Grand Jury investigations, and criminal trials.  Members also frequently provide training to officers within the Sunrise Police Department and other venues throughout Broward County.

Crime Laboratory

The Sunrise Police Department Crime Scene Unit works in tandem with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Crime Laboratory, which provides laboratory analysis of DNA, firearms, narcotics, and fingerprint evidence collected from crime scenes.