Investigative Bureau

Investigative Unit

The Investigative Unit of the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office is a critical arm of the office.  The unit is staffed by Confidential Investigators and a technical resource officer.  Members of the IU are Police Officers with full arrest authority, vested under Article 1.20 of the New York State Criminal Procedure Law and are registered with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.  They bring with them knowledge from a career in law enforcement both in the local police departments as well as the New York State Police.  The collective backgrounds in street police work is an asset to the work performed in the DA’s Office.

Investigators have both general and specialized duties within the Office of the Schenectady County District Attorney.  Generally, the in house investigators work with Assistant District Attorneys in case preparation.  Locating, interviewing and managing victims/witnesses; serving subpoenas, receiving and returning trial evidence are some of the daily activities of investigators.  Defendants are arrested based on probable cause; however successful prosecution requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  Investigators assist on a daily basis to bridge that gap.

The DA’s Office also has Confidential Investigators that are embedded in several task forces that work with assisting all local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies in their investigations within and around Schenectady County.  One task force includes the FBI-led Safe Streets Task Force that focuses on criminal activity conducted by violent street gangs in our community, and partners with the FBI and USAO.  Investigators also staff both the County Street Crimes TF and the Sheriff’s Drug Task Force. 

The DA’s Office has partnered with the Fire Department to cross-deputize firefighters as DA Investigators to provide specialized assistance in investigations of arsons.  The training and special attention to these difficult to solve crimes, has proven very successful in solving such cases.

For the past 14 years, the Schenectady County DA’s Office has built a wireless network of public surveillance cameras to assist law enforcement in fighting and deterring crime.  The system is operated by two Confidential Investigators who combine their expert knowledge of the system with their knowledge of the County geography and street maps to investigate criminal incidents.  Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies rely on this invaluable asset to aid in solving crime and in protecting the community.

Our office has added the position of Technical Resource Officer to assist the office with digital discovery and case preparation.  This officer is trained as a crime analyst and assists in the gathering and interpretation of data for investigations and cases being prepared for prosecution.  In addition, he serves as the technical resource for the ADAs during case preparation and presentation.