SAHP Traffic Investigations Unit

1.0 Mission Statement

The San Andreas Highway Patrol’s Traffic Investigations Unit (hereafter referred to as the TIU) is a statewide investigative branch,  established to deal with the most serious offenses taking place on the roadways of San Andreas. The TIU’s brief covers:

• Serious or Complex Vehicular Collisions;
• Hit & Runs;
• Traffic Enforcement Checkpoints;
• Auto Theft & Organized Crime;
• Traffic Homicides; and
• Illegal Trafficking of goods or persons.

The above list is not exhaustive.

The TIU may also conduct traffic based operations for non-investigative offenses such as DUIs, unroadworthy vehicles & other checkpoints.

The TIU, supervised by Captain Tylerus, was established in January 2022 as a division of the San Andreas Highway Patrol. The TIU’s priority is to keep the roadways & road users of San Andreas safe and free from crime. With a large network of highways & state roads, investigating serious or complex offenses can cause a large workload that takes away from the day to day efficiency of the SAHP. Establishing the TIU allows these offenses to be properly scrutinized and investigated without delay. The San Andreas Highway Patrol stands as the best unit to carry out this work with their use & experience with the roadways unparalleled.

2.0 Standard Operating Procedures

A TIU case will be opened if a traffic offense outlined above has occurred and further investigation is needed. These cases will be opened by a TIU supervisor, who will assign the required resources to the case. More assistance can be provided on an adhoc basis, depending on workload & availability. If another agency or department needs to be consulted then this too can occur when necessary.

• All members of SAHP are able to act as TIU provided they are given permission by the TIU supervisor or are already working on a TIU case;
• When acting as TIU, members should not be actively patrolling or responding to non TIU calls; 
• The SAHP command structure is still in place when acting as TIU;
• TIU members are still to use their SAHP rank, there is no rank associated with TIU;
• Multi-department cases may be opened with the approval of relevant departments;
• There is no difference to radio traffic or callsigns when operating as TIU;
• You may not provide ride alongs or FTOs whilst acting as TIU; and
• Documentation is key, TIU must make case notes & supervisors must log any decisions made. These notes must be submitted to the relevant case if applicable.

Uniforms & Vehicles

TIU are able to operate in plain clothes, depending on the situation. In plain clothes, the TIU must still be identifiable as law enforcement, unless prior permission is granted in extenuating circumstances. Outside of plain clothes, stand SAHP uniform policies apply and must be adhered to.

TIU may make use of all SAHP vehicles & unless prior permission is granted in extenuating circumstances the SAHP vehicle policies still apply.

3.0 Investigations

TIU may attend scenes of the aforementioned nature that would not require a formal case to be opened, these still should be documented in an incident report in case of relevance to a future enquiry.

A case file can only be formally launched by a TIU Supervisor, this can be initiated after TIU attends a call/scene that may prove to be complex or would require further investigation.

At all times when on a scene the TIU should be making notes of any actions/decisions taken as well as any loose pieces of information. It is much better to make notes at the present time then writing them all up after a scene as troopers may misremember or forget key pieces of information.

Evidence preservation & gathering is a key aspect of the origins of the investigation. TIU must make all LEOs on potential scenes aware of the importance of prevention of evidence loss and should take care, where possible,  to keep the scene in situ. Bodycam recording/photography of a scene is essential. Remember – you can always delete unnecessary footage or images but cannot always record or photograph information after the fact.

Statements should be taken from any persons on scene, including that of the responding officer or relevant first responder. If civilian, then these statements must include contact information for any future inquiries and documentation.

Any vehicles on complex scenes must be secured and transported to the SAHP Forensics Garage at the headquarters for investigation. 

Interviews under caution may be held if necessary. There must be TWO LEOs present for the interview and the leading investigator must ensure that the interviewee is Miransized before any questions can be asked. As always, notes on questions & their answers must be made to further the investigation. Interviews should take place at the SAHP headquarters, unless the subject is detained in another facility which also has the capacity for safe interviews.