In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, county detectives or district attorney investigators are
peace officers employed by the
district attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
's office of their respective
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
. County detectives generally exist in the
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
, such as
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, where the
county sheriff primarily performs court-related duties. Other jurisdictions may refer to them as ''district attorney investigators''.
["San Diego District Attorney, Bureau of Investigation, District Attorney Investigator Jobs"](_blank)
Official website of the San Diego District Attorney, access date: 12 May 2018.
Duties and authority
California
In California, district attorney investigators are sworn
peace officers pursuant to § 830.1(a) of the California Penal Code.
The San Diego District Attorney currently maintains a law enforcement arm called ''Bureau of Investigation''.
["San Diego District Attorney, Criminal Divisions, Bureau of Investigation"](_blank)
Official website of the San Diego District Attorney, access date: 12 May 2018. It consists of eight divisions, which include 130 district attorney investigators and other non sworn staff.
Amongst its law enforcement duties and responsibilities are assignments which may include pre-trial, gang, economic, insurance, fraud investigations; family protection, child abduction, sex crimes, stalking, and special operation investigations.
Apart from this, San Diego DA investigators may be assigned to regional local, state and federal task forces such as: computer and high tech crimes, narcotics, auto theft, identity theft, violent crimes, SAFE and fraud.
Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, county detectives are considered "general police officers" by the courts and as defined by statute. Title 16 P.S. § 1440 As such, county detectives are empowered to enforce all the criminal and traffic laws of Pennsylvania.
In conjunction with enforcing the laws of the state, county detectives also perform other duties as dictated by the district attorney. These duties often include assisting the district attorney and assistant district attorneys with the preparation of cases for trial, assisting municipal police departments with the investigation of serious crimes, and acting as the primary investigator for specific types of crime as outlined by the district attorney.
County detectives often work joint investigations with federal, state and other local law enforcement agencies.
Additionally, many county detectives perform drug investigations as members of their county drug task force, which draws its authority from the district attorney of that county.
See also
*
County police
County police, often (but not always) called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of th ...
Notes
External links
Berks County (PA) DetectivesBucks County (PA) DetectivesMonroe County (PA) Detective Unit
{{DEFAULTSORT:County Detective
Law enforcement units
Law enforcement in the United States