The unit investigates a wide variety of crimes including:
- burglary
- theft
- dealing stolen property
- auto theft
- vandalism
- arson
- animal cruelty
- and all other property related crimes
Detectives handle follow up investigation on all property crimes that occur within Leon County and work hand in hand with Leon County Animal Control on all Animal Cruelty cases. In early 2017, the LCSO, the Tallahassee Police Department and the 2nd Judicial Office of the State Attorney entered into a task force agreement focused on property crime within Leon County. The Property Crimes Task Force collocates county and city detectives to work collectively on identifying and apprehending persons involved in auto thefts and auto burglaries.
One of the prime crime fighting tools used by the Crimes Against Property Unit is the Pawn Shop Database. This is a computer system where all pawn shop transactions are entered and that tracks property pawned in local pawn shops. This system is maintained by Leon County, but is in use in many of the counties in North Florida. The list of Florida counties in the system is ever increasing, and soon will include counties in Georgia as well.
By their nature, property crimes are very difficult to solve. There is often little evidence and few, if any, witnesses to assist in solving the case. Most citizens do not think to write down serial numbers on their property. When property is stolen those serial numbers can be entered into the FCIC/NCIC database by law enforcement and make it much easier to identify property should it be recovered.
The best weapon against a property crime is a watchful eye. Be aware of what is taking place in your neighborhood. Don't rationalize suspicious behavior. If you see activity taking place that seems a little strange, call the Leon County Sheriff's Office immediately.