The
Special Enforcement Unit is the Police Department's
newest specialized unit. Each member of the
Special Enforcement Unit has a primary responsibility
to his or her specific assignment. The team
is comprised of 6 sworn personnel: 2 to handle
gang related investigations, 2 assigned to
narcotic enforcement, 1 for vice
and intelligence issues, plus one sergeant.
The team remains flexible,
however, and officers often assist one another
in cases requiring certain expertise or additional manpower.
The Special Enforcement Unit handles a variety
of operations. They are the department's plain
clothes officers who conduct covert surveillances
and undercover work. These operations include
narcotics purchases and prostitution stings.
The
narcotics unit is responsible for proactive
drug enforcement. These are the department';s
primary undercover officers. They provide
active enforcement towards street level users
and dealers affecting our community, by obtaining
and serving search warrants and arrest warrants.
Their job includes finding and arresting
those individuals responsible for supplying
the drugs that end up on our streets. The
narcotics unit works closely with the probation
and parole departments, along with other
narcotics units from police departments surrounding
Cypress. They monitor known narcotic traffic
areas and target activity within our neighborhoods
and business areas. They provide drug enforcement
training to patrol officers about new trends
and issues regarding drug use and sales.
These officers also teach drug classes to
students in local schools and citizens of
the community through the Cypress Police
Department's Junior Academy and the
Cypress Police Department's Citizen's
Academy.
The
Vice and Intelligence Unit is tasked with four
primary duties:
- Enforcement of vice-related crimes including monitoring illegal liquor and firearm sales, prostitution activities, illegal gambling, and organized crime.
- Assisting Federal and State agencies with terrorism-related investigations in the community.
- Maintenance of criminal intelligence information for the Cypress Police Department.
- Conduct investigations on applicants for a variety of Cypress city permits.
The unit has one full-time investigator assigned and routinely relies on the community for assistance in identifying suspicious activities for further investigation. Anyone who observes suspicious activity relating to possible terrorism or vice-related crimes is welcome to call and speak with an investigator. The Vice and Intelligence Unit can be reached at (714) 229-6659.