Chapter 402
2012 -- S 2660 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/23/12
A N A C T
RELATING TO
STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - DEPARTMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
Introduced By: Senator Michael J. McCaffrey
Date Introduced: March 01, 2012
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 42-9-8.1 of the General Laws in Chapter
42-9 entitled "Department
of Attorney General" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
42-9-8.1
Office of investigation – Powers and duties of investigators.
– (1)
Establishment. There is hereby established within the department of
attorney general an office of
investigation.
(2) Scope and purpose.
The scope and purpose of the office of investigation shall be:
(a) To assist special
assistant and assistant attorneys general in carrying out investigations
relating to grand jury investigations, pre-trial preparation
and other litigation efforts;
(b) To coordinate their
efforts in investigating criminal activity with existing federal,
state and local law enforcement resources; and
(c) To initiate criminal
investigations for violations of the law at the direction of the
attorney general.
(3) Composition and
powers. The office of investigation shall consist of a chief, and not
more than five (5)
field investigators, all of whom shall be designated by the attorney
general, and
support personnel. The chief and the field investigators
shall have the following powers:
(a) The power to arrest
independently or in conjunction with local, state or federal law
enforcement agencies;
(b) The power to, with
the written authorization by the attorney general or his or her
designated deputy, apply for and execute search warrants; and
(4) Qualifications. No
person shall be appointed as chief of the office of investigation or
as a field investigator in the office unless he or she
has successfully completed the basic course of
instruction for police officers at the
municipal police training academy, or the
least three (3) years of active law enforcement experience,
or has served as a member of the
United States Marshal's Service or as a special agent
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a
criminal law enforcement agency of the United States
Department of Justice, the
Department of State, the United States Department of
the Treasury or the
Inspection Service and has at least three (3) years of
active law enforcement experience, or has
been certified as a police officer by the duly-constituted
state commission on police officer
standards and training of another state, and has at least three
(3) years of active law enforcement
experience.
(5) Appointment
background check. The attorney general shall appoint the chief, field
investigators, and the support personnel of the office of
investigation. Prior to the appointment of
any individuals, a background examination shall be
conducted utilizing federal, state and local
law enforcement agencies, bureau of criminal
identification, national crime information center,
and any and all relevant records existing within the
federal and state court systems.
(6) Standards. The
office shall adopt and implement such standards as may be applicable
to its scope and purpose as promulgated by the
commission for the accreditation of law
enforcement agencies.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00212/SUB A
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