The Special Investigator is a statutorily authorized law enforcement officer position, with general police powers, within the District Attorney’s Office.  The position is funded, in part, by a Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) grant.  As a result of the VAWA funding, one-half of the position is devoted to assisting in the prosecution of domestic violence cases.  The remainder of the investigator position is devoted to assisting in all other matters being handled by the District Attorney’s Office.

Specific duties include meeting with victims of domestic violence to answer questions, photographing injuries and obtaining any additional information necessary for domestic violence case prosecution.  Additional duties include follow-up investigation, location of witnesses for court proceedings, assistance in the development  of courtroom displays, and technical assistance in evidence presentation.  Recently, job duties have grown to include providing assistance to the Court Diversion Program.

The District Attorney’s Office prosecutes offenses as the result of referrals made by Marathon County law enforcement agencies, the Wisconsin State Patrol, the Wisconsin Department of Justice and various Wisconsin administrative agencies.

The District Attorney’s Office does not process reports of suspected criminal activity made by citizens.  Such reports should be made to the appropriate law enforcement agency.  As such, the Special Investigator is not permitted to initiate criminal investigations without specific authorization from the District Attorney.  In addition, evidence cannot be received, processed or stored by the District Attorney’s Office.

The current Special Investigator is Charles J. Jones with over 30 years of law enforcement experience.