Concurrent Authority to Investigate or Prosecute Crimes.

The Attorney General has concurrent authority with a prosecuting attorney to investigate and prosecute crimes.  In order for the Attorney General to exercise this authority, a county prosecuting attorney, the Governor, or the Washington State Patrol's Organized Crime Intelligence Unit Oversight Committee must either request or concur in the Attorney General's exercise of that authority.

The Attorney General's Office's (AGO) Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Cold Cases Investigations Assistance Unit (Unit) assists law enforcement agencies with cold cases.  The Unit's assistance in criminal investigations is limited to the scope of the request from the law enforcement agency with primary jurisdiction over the case, and the Unit must prioritize its assistance to jurisdictions that lack sufficient resources to investigate cold cases.

Limited Authority Washington Peace Officer.

A limited authority Washington peace officer is an officer for an agency, political subdivision, or local government that apprehends or detects persons committing infractions or violating traffic or criminal laws in subject areas limited to the agency's authority.  Limited law enforcement agencies include the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Social and Health Services, the Gambling Commission, the Lottery Commission, the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Utilities and Transportation Commission, the Liquor and Cannabis Board, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, the Department of Corrections, the Office of Independent Investigations, and the Department of Labor and Industries.

The Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) provides basic law enforcement training, certification for peace officers, and advanced training and educational programming.

Authority to Execute a Search Warrant.

A general authority Washington peace officer may enforce traffic or criminal laws in certain circumstances, including when the officer is executing a search warrant.  A general authority officer is a full-time officer of a state or local government or agency whose primary function is to enforce traffic or criminal laws.  The Washington State Patrol and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are general authority law enforcement agencies.  

The government's authority to conduct searches and seizures is limited by Article I, section 7 of the Washington Constitution and the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.  As a general rule, a search may only be conducted pursuant to a warrant that is based on probable or reasonable cause.  A magistrate has the power to issue a search warrant that authorizes an officer to enter property and search for evidence of a crime.

The Attorney General is required to designate investigator positions to investigate economic and financial crimes.  Those positions are limited authority Washington peace officers.  As a peace officer, an AGO investigator must comply with the CJTC's relevant training requirements, as well as a criminal background check.  The Attorney General is prohibited from employing a person as an AGO investigator if that person is not eligible for certification by the CJTC.  Attorney General's Office employees involved in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are not AGO investigators.

An AGO investigator may electronically serve a search warrant on a business, but before doing so, the search warrant must be approved by a judicial officer.  An AGO investigator is prohibited from physically serving a search warrant, does not have the power to detain or arrest, and may not be armed.  Other law enforcement agencies' investigative authority and criminal jurisdiction are not modified.