(609) 882-2000 ext 2538

Detectives assigned to this unit investigate police officer involved shootings, homicides, suspicious deaths, kidnapings, and other serious crimes which warrant the expertise of its highly trained personnel. Unit members routinely assist federal, state, county and local authorities in cooperative investigations, resulting in the solution of homicides which might ordinarily go unsolved. Unit members are also tasked with assisting and forming cooperative investigative partnerships with national and international authorities.

The Major Crime Unit receives numerous out of state and federal requests for assistance in homicide investigations with New Jersey connections. Unit members are experienced in conducting complex, large scale investigations and managing and coordinating the investigative efforts with other law enforcement agencies. The Major Crime Unit provides lectures and training in the proper care and evaluation of crime scenes, evidence handling, case management, guidance at autopsies, and assurance that all medico-legal aspects of an investigation are covered.

As a component of the State of New Jersey Attorney General's Shooting Response Team, the Major Crime Unit has significant expertise in the investigation of deadly force incidents involving police officers. The Unit provides resources and expertise for all investigations of shootings involving serious injury or death to or by a State Police member or a member of a County Prosecutor's Office. The Unit has developed an expertise in deadly force issues through its continual training and investigative experience. The Major Crime Unit conducts an annual Advanced Homicide Investigation Seminar at Princeton University which draws investigators and prosecuting attorneys from throughout the United States and Canada. The New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit Advanced Homicide Seminar provides training in the medico-legal aspects of a homicide investigation and the most modern scientific techniques available to the homicide investigator. The networking of investigators that has developed as a result of this seminar has had a positive impact on the efficiency of homicide investigations statewide, and the seminar has become the one of the premier homicide schools in the United States.