§ 364 - Investigator - Vermont Statutes

§ 364. Investigator

(a) A state's attorney may appoint an investigator and, with the approval of the governor, shall fix the investigator's pay not to exceed that of a noncommissioned officer of the department of public safety, and may remove the investigator at will. An investigator shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in connection with his or her official duties when approved by the state's attorney and the commissioner of human resources. Investigators shall take part in the investigation of crime, the detection of persons suspected of committing crimes, the preparation of any criminal cause for trial, and other tasks related to the state's attorney's office. No person may be appointed as an investigator unless he or she has had appropriate experience in investigative work for a period of not less than two years, including but not limited to employment as a private detective or a law enforcement officer, or has successfully completed a course of training under chapter 151 of Title 20.

(b) A person appointed as an investigator who has successfully completed a course of training under chapter 151 of Title 20 shall have the same powers as sheriffs in criminal matters and the enforcement of the law and in serving criminal process, and shall have all the immunities and matters of defense now available or hereafter made available to sheriffs in a suit brought against them in consequence for acts done in the course of their employment. (Amended 1959, No. 299, § 1; 1967, No. 368 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 27, 1968; 1969, No. 266 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. April 8, 1970; 1971, No. 120, § 50, eff. July 1, 1971; 1973, No. 77, § 55, eff. July 1, 1973; 1981, No. 108, § 327; 1989, No. 297 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1995, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. June 6, 1996; 2003, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 15; 2007, No. 7, § 7.)