Divisions

The Investigation Unit is comprised of six department members; a Detective Sergeant, three Detectives, a Tactical Officer, and a Task Force Officer assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration.  

The primary purpose of the Investigations Unit is to conduct follow ups on cases requiring further investigation.  All police reports are screened daily and assigned to Detectives as appropriate.  Cases that are routinely assigned to Detectives include Criminal Damage to Property, Fraud, Burglary, Theft, Robberies, Arson, and all serious crimes against a person. 

Members of the Investigations Unit undergo rigorous specialized training to aide in their investigations.  

Many of the Detectives are assigned to the South Suburban Major Crime Task Force, which comes to the aide of departments to assist with a Homicide Investigation.  The Tactical Officers primary responsibility is to focus on narcotic related crime within the village.  

The Midlothian Police Department has a Crisis Intervention Team that assist on all calls for people in Mental Health Crisis. The Police Department has 12 officers who are specially trained in helping people who are in crisis. If you know a person in a Mental Health Crisis, contact the 911 Operator and inform them you need a CIT Officer.

The Village of Midlothian employs an Animal Control Officer who works for the Police Department and serves a dual role with the Midlothian Police Department. The officer answers call for stray animals, animal bites & enforcing the villages ordinances concerning animals.  This officer serves as our Community Service Officer, assisting with parking problems, lock outs, car seat installation and many other tasks.

Financial crimes are one of the most rapidly growing criminal enterprises in the United States. The Investigations Unit investigates a variety of financial crimes from simple petty thefts to embezzlements of large amounts of money.  The unit also handles fraud, forgeries, identity thefts, scams and ATM / credit card offenses.

What should I do if I am the victim of a forgery?

The first thing you should do is contact the bank or credit card company where the forged document was originally issued and close your account(s). Before notifying the police, be sure that the alleged forgery was not a forgotten transaction or a transaction by another family member.

How do I avoid being the victim of a scam or identity theft?

There are several things you can do to avoid being the victim of a scam or identity theft:

• Never give anyone your personal information, especially if you don’t know who he or she is. That includes providing or confirming your address, bank account, credit card numbers, phone numbers or date of birth.
• Don’t write account numbers on the outside of payment envelopes.
• Destroy any records, cancelled checks, receipts, and deposit slips, etc. before throwing them away. If you have a shredder, use it. If not, tear the bills, receipts, etc. into tiny pieces and try to put them in different trashcans.
• Guard your Social Security number. Do not have it imprinted on checks. If it is requested by a business, ask if there is an alternate ID that can be used. If not, ask for an explanation why the number is needed. It should not be used for identification purposes.
• Check with the National Fraud Information Center at www.fraud.org . NFIC provides a lot of valuable resources about telephone, mail and online scams.

If you are a victim of Identity theft contact The Federal Trade Commission and your local police department.

Always use common sense!

I own a business that accepts personal checks. What should I do if I am issued a check that returns "non sufficient funds" or "account closed?"

If the check returns "non-sufficient funds" deposit it a second time. Often law abiding citizens write checks in anticipation that a deposit will be made to their account to cover the check. If it becomes obvious that the check is not going to clear or that the account is closed then contact the Midlothian Police Department and ask for someone in the Investigations Unit.  

What should I do if I believe I am a victim of Identity Theft, or my Credit Card has been stolen??

Flag Your Credit Reports 

Call a nationwide credit reporting company and ask for a fraud alert on your credit report. The company you call must contract the other two Credit Bureau’s so they can put fraud alerts on your files. An Initial Fraud Alert is good for 90 days. 

Notify the Credit Bureau’s: 

• Trans Union 800- 680-7289     
• Equifax 800-525-6285    
• Experian 888-397-3742    

Identity Theft Prevention and Guides

• Federal Trade Commission
• Recovering from Identity Theft
• USA.gov
• Internal Revenue Service
• Free Copy of your Credit Report