Facing a criminal charge in Bucks County, Pennsylvannia? The following is what you need to know regarding the various agencies involved in the prosecution and investigation of criminal cases. To discuss your case and begin building a defense call and schedule a consultation with a Bucks County criminal defense attorney today.
In Bucks County, like most of the other counties in Pennsylvania with a few exceptions, a number of policing bodies are involved in the prosecution of individuals. First and foremost, there’s the District Attorney of Bucks County, which has the power and authority to bring charges against an individual. Additionally, there is a narcotics task force, and other specialized policing forces, as well as local policing forces for local townships.
For instance, if an individual is stopped for driving under the influence in the town of Bensalem, it is often the police officers and the Police Department of Bensalem through their officers, detectives, and sergeants that play a role in the prosecution and work directly with filing a complaint against the individual and providing such a complaint in detail to the District Attorney’s Office. After a local judge signs such a complaint, a person is formally charged with a crime. However, there are many more agencies at work. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is often brought in to certain types of cases in Bucks County.
The Pennsylvania State Police often make many DUI and insurance-related investigations throughout all of Bucks County—as well as other federal agencies like Homeland Security, should there be a need for such an investigation. All of these agencies work in tandem to put information together that allows warrants to be signed, individuals to be interviewed, and, as a result, the accused to be arrested. It’s when all of these agencies work together coherently that an individual then is full processed and advised of what they’re charged with. The only way around that is to immediately hire an attorney who is experienced with the Bucks County criminal system to aid an individual and avoid an individual giving unnecessary statements or giving up unnecessary evidence, which may or may not hurt an individual when it comes to time for trial or prosecution.
The Bucks County Police Department, like most police departments in Pennsylvania, has access to unlimited resources—dogs, special mechanics, special SWAT teams, special investigative units, and special computer fraud units, only to name a few. All of these units are at their disposal. The only thing an accused has is the right to obtain an attorney experienced in defending in all these areas. That is why it is so important for an individual accused of a crime to seek out the services of an experienced Bucks County Criminal attorney to defend their rights and protect them from the thousands of different ways in which the government can try to proceed in working to get a conviction against an individual.