The Violent Crimes Unit (VCI) is comprised of One Detective Sergeant, and Four Detectives who investigate felony crimes against persons. The VCI unit is responsible for the investigation of a wide variety of serious incidents including assaults, robberies, kidnapping, weapons violations, missing persons and hate crimes. Investigators are routinely tasked with investigating serious assault cases, such as shootings, stabbings and beatings involving serious injury.

The VCI unit investigates homicide, manslaughter, suicide involving a firearm, suspicious and arson-related deaths, officer-Involved shootings with death or injury, deaths that occur while in-custody, assaults against on-duty peace officers wherein a death or serious injury results, outside law enforcement agency shootings that occur on and off duty, in the County jurisdiction.

VCI also handles Cold Homicide Cases.  A “cold case” homicide is defined as any unsolved homicide in Sonoma County and has no significant leads, and is no longer being actively investigated by detectives based on a lack of solvability factors.

All of the detectives in this unit receive specialized training in homicide investigation, interview and interrogation and officer involved critical incidents. The VCI unit is based at the Sheriff's Office in Santa Rosa and investigates crimes in the unincorporated area of the County and the Town of Windsor and the City of Sonoma.

The VCI unit is also staffed with a student intern who monitors routine missing persons cases.