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Criminal Investigation Division Commander
Deputy Chief Cindy Gass


The Criminal Investigation Division is responsible for performing the investigative functions of the Knoxville Police Department. This division has the second largest number of personnel and is comprised of investigators, specialists, technicians, supervisors, and support staff. Members of the Criminal Investigation Division answer citizen complaints, respond to crime scenes, and investigate cases referred by the Patrol Division.


Captain John Kiely

• Violent Crimes Unit (murder, rape, robbery, assault, kidnapping, suicide, and other sudden suspicious deaths)

• Property Crimes Unit (auto theft, forgery and fraud, pawn shop, burglary and larceny, and metal theft detail)

Forensic Unit (crime scene processing, fingerprint identification, firearms identification, photo lab, and polygraph detail) 

• Crime Analysis Unit (obtain and analyze as much information as possible, in order to identify crime patterns, trends, offenders, and develop correlations, to improve short term and long term decision making, and the ability of the Department to manage, allocate, and deploy resources so that criminal activities can be stopped)

Captain Tony Willis 

• Organized Crime Unit (narcotics, federal task forces, firearms investigative team, gang/intelligence and internet crimes against children detail)

Special Crimes Unit (child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, missing persons and human trafficking)

• Internet Crimes Against Children (technology-facilitated child exploitation)

Each case is reviewed for solvability factors and is assigned to an investigator for follow-up based on the type of crime and the investigator's expertise. Members of the division conduct interviews and lawful searches during an investigation to gather information or evidence useful in reconstructing the occurrence or circumstances of an illegal act. The primary duties of an investigator include: the apprehension of offenders, recovery of stolen property, preparation of cases for court prosecutions, and presentation of evidence in court cases.