Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan Hosts Officer Training on Search Warrants
WOBURN – The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office hosted more than 50 officers from 20 Middlesex County communities today for training on the process of applying for and obtaining search warrants.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan provided the training to instruct officers on the search warrant application process, legal steps to obtaining cell phone and Internet Service Provider information, and ways to obtain GPS and other location based information as part of an ongoing investigation. The use of search warrants, administrative subpoenas and location tracking are vital law enforcement tools used during investigations and require judicial approval.
“The search warrant affidavit process is an important one in our legal system,” said District Attorney Ryan. “It is imperative that this process is carefully followed to ensure the integrity of an investigation and the due process of the parties involved. We have a suburb Search Warrant Team who provided this training today for the benefit of the police officers in our communities.”
Officers participating today were from the Department of Corrections, UMASS Lowell Police department and the following communities: Arlington, Ashby, Bedford, Belmont, Billerica, Everett, Groton, Holliston, Lincoln, Littleton, Maynard, Melrose, Natick, North Reading, Reading, Scituate, Tewksbury, Wayland, and Woburn. The training was provided by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office at nominal cost for the participants.
“The training from the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office provides an important foundation for our street officers on the search warrant process,” said Robert Ferullo, Woburn Police Chief. “The staff at the District Attorney’s Office are experts on this issue and we know we are getting the most accurate and valuable information. We’re very appreciative that District Attorney Ryan can offer this program.”
“This training allows us to get ahead and stay up to date on changes in the law and new tools available to law enforcement,” said Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin. “New detectives and senior detectives from the Belmont Police Department participated in this training and walked away with new information that will help us as we serve and protect the people of Belmont.”
Search Warrant Team members from the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office Appeals and Training Bureau provide training and assistance to local police and provided assistance for nearly 300 search warrants last year. The team, which includes assistant district attorneys and support staff, provides 24 hour assistance to police departments in applying for search warrants while also assisting on search warrants applied for in all homicide cases.
The Appeals and Training Bureau provides regular training specifically geared towards the challenges that patrol officers and detectives face in particular types of investigations, including narcotics, sexual assault, and domestic violence. These sessions feature instruction on recent court decisions regarding search and seizure, eye-witness identification, and interrogation. Police trainings also include presentations from the MDAO’s Cyber Enforcement Unit on advancing investigations through the use of cutting-edge technology.
Middlesex County is the largest county in Massachusetts and one of the largest counties in the country with 54 towns and cities and 26 colleges in urban, suburban, and rural areas, comprising over one quarter of the population of Massachusetts. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office has offices throughout the county, including in Ayer, Cambridge, Concord, Framingham, Lowell, Malden, Marlborough, Newton, Somerville, Waltham and Woburn.