The job of John Rowe, a sergeant with the Round Rock Police Department, can change at a moments notice.

This is because criminals perpetrating fraud and white-collar crime are constantly evolving with technology and investigative techniques. Rowe is part of a five-member unit within the Round Rock Police Department dedicated to investigating white-collar crimes.

"The biggest sign of the city's stance on white-collar crime is the fact that were the third-largest unit in the division," Rowe said. "The investment in a white-collar crime unit is one of the most expensive a department can take on."

He said the unit can be so expensive because the training is highly technical and ongoing.

"The department has not batted an eye in making sure everyone in the white-collar crime unit is trained beyond the industry standard," he said.

Rowe said white-collar crime is any crime that is financial, digital or requiring advanced technological forensic review. He said examples vary from embezzlement and forgery to child pornography. Though white-collar crime is typically non-violent, it is a type of criminal activity that can happen anywhere.

"Myself and one other guy are going through the certified fraud examiner [training]," he said. "It's more about accounting than I ever cared to know, but it helps when we investigate these different companies that are victims of fraud or embezzlement."

Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks said in the past year the Round Rock police force has trained its detectives in other units to investigate such crimes. He said the department saw an increase in white-collar crimes locally and that prompted the decision to train more detectives in the forensic investigative techniques.

"It's a matter of taking care of our community, taking care of our citizens," Banks said. "We do our part and try to get some of these people put behind bars."

Rowe said having a major corporation, such as Dell, Inc., headquartered in Round Rock adds to the caseload the division sees.

"You can imagine the different people trying to pull frauds on Dell," he said. "And [Dell is] very good about catching most of it, but unfortunately some things slip through."

Rowe said in such cases the white-collar crime unit coordinates with other law-enforcement agencies, depending on the scale of the crime.

Rowe said complicating white-collar crime cases is the fact that most perpetrators are not in the state or country.

"That's been one of our biggest sources of frustration," he said. "Some countries are stronger in terms of prosecution of fraud; then there are others who—I don't want to say they condone it—but they certainly don't make our job any easier."

In the high tech age it is much easier for a crime to involve digital evidence. For instance, Rowe said, if someone text messages a threat to another person, the white-collar crime unit might be brought in to run cell phone forensics.

Alan Bachman, the education manager for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, said it is not a given a city of Round Rock's size would have a police unit dedicated to such investigations.

"One of the best fraud deterrents is prosecution," he said. "Having the police back that up is pretty impressive. Not all police departments are responsive when you walk in with a white-collar case."