By District Attorney Ryan Sayers
2023 Vol. 31
After last week’s Q&A with the DA, I received a follow-up question in regards to county detectives.
I was asked, “why not just deputize more people to be county detectives to help law enforcement and handle investigations?”
It is true, based on what was discussed last week, that Pennsylvania Statute provides that the district attorney of each county is able to employ county detectives under their supervision and control, and that these county detectives have countywide jurisdiction.
However, the catch is that a county detective does not have arrest powers or the ability to file a criminal complaint unless they have the proper credentials.
County detectives fall under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC).
This commission governs the credentialing of municipal police officers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In order to sit for the certification exam, an individual has to complete ACT 120 training (the Municipal Police Academy, which is approximately a one-year program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania for our part of the state), or equivalent training (Pennsylvania State Police Academy, military police training, out of state police academies, etc.).
Obviously, the purpose of such a credentialing process is to make sure that our officers are properly trained, especially in the areas of use of force, investigating crimes and understanding the law.
Additionally, even if someone were to present himself/herself with MPOETC credentials and wished to be a county detective, there are additional considerations.
First is pay. The County Commissioners set the number of positions in each office/department and the salary or hourly rate for each position.
Right now, there is only one part-time position allocated to the District Attorney’s Office.
Second is insurance/liability. Even if someone has the credentials and wants to volunteer to be a county detective, there is still the issue of insurance/liability to the taxpayers of Clearfield County because that person would be carrying a firearm and taser, and have arrest authority, which all of those items come at a cost.
Third is the individual’s background. Even though a person has an active MPOETC number that does not necessarily mean that they would be the right fit as a county detective.
Therefore, it is not as simple as just swearing someone in and giving them a badge, which is important because we want appropriately trained and credentialed officers in our county and Commonwealth.
Ryan Sayers is the elected District Attorney of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
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