Bonneville County prosecutor’s office looking to hire investigator
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The following is a news release from the Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office.
IDAHO FALLS – The Bonneville County Commission has approved the hiring of an investigator to work directly for the Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney.
Most counties in Idaho of comparable size already employ investigators in their prosecutor’s offices. Upon the Commision’s approval, Bonneville County Commission Chairman Roger Christensen stated that the position was “overdue.”
An investigator in the prosecutor’s office is a peace officer in the state of Idaho, but their duties are much broader than a detective with most law enforcement agencies.
“An investigator with our office interacts with all law enforcement agencies in the county as well as our deputy prosecutors to prepare cases for trial,” explains Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Neal. “However, they may also be called upon to conduct civil and administrative investigations.”
“They seldom are involved in the ‘whodunit?’ part of a criminal investigation,” Neal said, “and concentrate more on how we can effectively get justice for those offenders that normally have already been identified by law enforcement.”
Although the applicant does not have to have prior law enforcement experience, the requirements for the position and testing procedures are stringent, and includes a qualifications questionnaire, written examination, physical agility test and an oral board.
“Because they work extensively with the attorneys in our office and more directly with the court system, we are looking for someone with significant legal analysis and writing skills,” Neal stated. “We are not looking to
duplicate the skills that law enforcement agencies already have in their detective divisions.”
“The biggest challenge for the prosecutor’s investigator is that they must communicate basically at an attorney’s level, but also have the ‘street smarts’ to effectively work outside our office directly with the community.”
Neal said that means although individuals with law enforcement experience have an edge, he is willing to train the right person if they are otherwise highly qualified.
The official job announcement should be available soon on the Bonneville County website.