Captain Nancy Brown - Section Commander
The Orange County Sheriff's Office Major Case is home for many of the agency's key investigative units. Detectives assigned to the section work some of the most diffiult cases that come to the agency. Many of the cases they consider as "just part of their jobs" are often the lead story in the morning newspaper or on an evening newscast.
Unlike their Hollywood counterparts they don't often solve those difficult, who done it cases, in an hour, but their dedication and commitment to the task at hand is evident in their clearnace rates and the number of hardcore criminals that now look at life through the window of a jail cell as a result of the work the men and women assigned to this section do.
Homicide Squad
Orange County Homicide detectives investigated an unprecedented 73 homicides during 2008 compared with the 58 murders they investigated the previous year. In addition, detectives assigned to the squad investigated 394 deaths. During 2008 the squad handled two high profile cases that garnered international attention, the disappearance and murder of toddler Caylee Anthony and the murder of 26 year old Nicole Ganguzza.
Persons Squad
Detectives assigned to the Persons Squad are tasked with investigating crimes against a person that do not result in a death. These incidents run the gamut from verbal threats to do harm to complex bomb and shooting investigations.
Robbery Squad
Consistently one of the busiest investigative arms of the Sheriff’s Office the Robbery Unit is divided up into two squads… a day shift with eight detectives, a corporal, and a sergeant and a evening squad with four detectives, one corporal and a sergeant. During 2008 the unit investigated 2,413 robbery related crimes which was an eight percent decrease from the previous year. The unit investigated 20 robberies to banks, a 43 percent decrease from the number it investigated during 2008, twelve of those robberies were cleared by an arrest.
Computer Crimes
The Orange County Sheriff's Office has always been a leader in the examination and
retrieval of computer and digial evidence as well as the investigation into computer based crimes. The agency's Computer Crimes Squad has, in fact, made the recovery of digital evidence a routine part of most investigations... something that was unheard of just a few short years ago. In today's world suspects in all types of crimes from burglary to prostitution to homicide now, more often than not, leave digital traces of their crimes. During 2008 the squad took in 246 items for examination and, in addtion to providing invaluable investigative support to the agency's investigative efforts, they also assisted with 30 cases from other Federal, State, County, and City agencies. 
Forensics Squad
Crime Scene Investigators, or CSI's, have become household words thanks to prime time television and some recent movies. Fact is they have been around for quite some time and they play an integral, if not vital role, in the investigation of a criminal act. The Orange County Sheriff's Office has long reconized the value of the CSI and their role in the investigation and successful prosecution of a crime and because of that, you'll find some of the best in the business right here in Orange County.
Not content to sit on their laurels the unit continues to keep up with new technology and the enhancement of their skills by training in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, Bone Identification, The Science of Fingerprints, and Weapons of Mass Destruction. During 2008 members of the squad received 1,186 hours of advanced training and provided 2,023 hours of training to agency personnel.
The Forensics Squad benefits from a state of the art image lab and one of the best in-house firearms analysts in the business. During 2008 the unit processed 350 firearms and as a result, provided quick, accurate, and valuable evidence for agency detectives.
Missing Persons Squad
The role and responsibility of the agency’s Missing Persons Squad has grown significantly in recent years to the point where its makeup now includes sworn representation and it has taken on an active investigative role in a number of the agency’s major and high profile cases. The squad’s role and performance during the initial investigation into the suspicious disappearance of Caylee Anthony perhaps best personifies the importance of the newly defined Missing Person’s Squad and underscores the fact that 2008 was a breakout year in terms of the role Missing Persons plays in the day to day activities of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. View current missing persons cases.
Sexual Offender Surveillance (SOS) Squad
The SOS Squad is tasked with the management of all sexual offenders and sexual predators residing in Orange County and those visiting from out of state. During 2008 there were 1,575 of these invididuals under the watchful eye of SOS personnel. The squad regularly works with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the 
United States Marshal's Office to identify and apprehend absconders fro Florida as well as those from other states attempting to relocate here undetected. The SOS Squad continues to maintain strong working relationships with neighboring jurisdictions through its participation in the Central Florida Sexual Offender Task Force.
Internally the SOS Squad works closely with the Orange County Sheriff's Office Sex Crimes and Missing Persons Squads to identify offenders and predators that re-offend or violate their terms of release into the community. Although statutorily obligated to verify a sex offenders adress once each year the squad has begun to conduct at least two adress verifications on each offender per year. In addition sexual predators are verified at least quarterly and, in many cases, they are verified on a monthly basis. View Sexual Offender Information Page.
Domestic Violence/Child Abuse Squad
Violence within the family unit remains one of this nation's tragic epidemics. Since there has been a long association with domestic violence and child abuse the Orange County Sheriff's Office implemented a squad that is tasked with both domestic and child abuse investigations. Today the unit is an investigative component that benefits from enhanced information sharing, unified supervision with better oversight, and more effective case management. Despite the many challenges this unit faces when investigating these difficult and all too often secretive crimes detectives assigned to the unit continue to make significant arrests on some of the county's most distasteful crimes.
Sex Crimes Squad
The Orange County Sheriff's Office Sex Crimes Squad has earned a solid reputation for agressively pursuing and having great success in closing some of the county's most heinous crimes. Like many of their counterparts detectives assigned to the Sex Crimes Squad take great pride in the fact that they take the worst of the worst offenders off the streets.
Evidence Unit
During 2008 the agency's Evidence Unit received, cataloged and stored over 63,500 items of property and evidence. While providing invaluable support for the patrol and investigative functions of the agency the unit has other responsibilities. During a typical year Evidence supplies many departments within the Sheriff's Office and Orange County government with thousands of dollars of usable assets resulting in a noteworthy savings to county taxpayers.
The unit has a very active conversion and donation program that regularly supplies many sections within the Sheriff's Office and Orange County with thousands of dollars of usable assets that do not impact the agency's budget.
During 2008 the Evidence Unit conducted two firearms disposal projects that resulted in the purging of thousands of firearms, many of which had been used in criminal activity in the county. The unit also conducted four illicit drug disposal projects, processed and transported 6,419 cases to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Crime Lab for analysis, and 1,234 cases to the Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Unit for processing. During 2008 the unit returned 3,832 property items to their rightful owners, and responded to 188 calls for service.
Crime Analysis and Pawn Unit
A key yet relatively unsung component of the agency’s Criminal Investigations Division is its Crime Analysis and Pawn Unit. Personnel assigned to this function provide invaluable support to the agency’s investigative units, information that can often make a criminal case.
The unit is responsible for the entry of data and criminal coding for all Part I crimes reported to the Sheriff’s Office, to include all pawn activity and field contacts. The unit also provides public records on crime activity in specific parts of the county to the public and news media, prepares and distributes criminal bulletins for use inside and outside of the agency, prepares the intelligence briefings for the agency’s bi-weekly crime control meetings, and takes on a myriad of special projects for the command and executive staff.