Milwaukee County’s goal is to enrich your life by providing essential services that meet your needs and those of your family, neighbors, co-workers and friends.
We enhance the quality of life in Milwaukee County through great public service.
Milwaukee County is home to over 950,000 people living in one of 19 communities, which range in size from the City of Milwaukee, with 595,000 residents, to the Village of River Hills, with roughly 1,600 residents.
Still a manufacturing stronghold, the region features 16 Fortune 1000 companies and thousands of others in the financial services, medical device, hospitality and retailing industries.
Find information about things to do and happenings in Milwaukee County.
The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is a multi-task orientated unit of highly trained and experienced criminal investigators. The division’s core values are to Identify Crime, Solve Crime, and Obtain Convictions using a data-driven crime reduction strategy. CID personnel must achieve and maintain a high degree of proficiency and expertise, and be versatile in numerous disciplines and types of investigations. Detectives must maintain expert skills in interviewing, interrogation, surveillance, evidence preservation, and crime scene management.
The General Investigations Unit is responsible for investigating a variety of criminal activity such as violent crimes, warrant sweeps, weapon offenses, sexual assault, battery, drug arrests, sexual predators, sudden death, stolen vehicles, intimidation of witnesses, and graffiti / tagging. The unit conducts special investigative cases for the county executive, County Board of Supervisors, Milwaukee County department heads, citizen groups or investigations deemed special in nature by the sheriff or his designee. Confidentiality, professionalism, job knowledge and proper decorum are paramount in conducting these types of investigations, which are often sensitive. The unit also works closely with the other 18 municipal law enforcement agencies in the county providing primary and supplemental investigative services.
The Apprehension Unit is responsible for looking for persons who are wanted for various crimes. Currently there are over 40,000 active warrants in Milwaukee County and many of those do not reach the level of violent crimes and therefore do not get the attention of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. The unit is assigned to work on the backlog of these warrants. The unit actively searches for offenders of Surrender of Firearms Hearings (Injunction Hearings) where judges have issued body attachments. The unit works with the District Attorney’s Office to locate and gain compliance with court-ordered DNA sample submissions. The unit also searches for absconders from the House of Correction.
The Background Investigative Unit is responsible for completing the background investigations of persons applying for positions within the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and other positions with Milwaukee County. This unit also completes background investigations for other government agencies statewide upon their request.
Criminal Investigations
821 W. State St. Room 209
Milwaukee, WI 53233
821 W. State St., Room 107 Milwaukee, WI 53233
(414) 278-4766