Specialized Operations

SEARCH & RESCUE UNIT

The Search & Rescue Unit was established in 1983 by Sheriff Ralph Froehlich. This unit functions as a backup and support service to all Union County Law Enforcement Agencies, the State Police and Federal Agencies in the Northern Jersey area. Search & Rescue Teams are called upon to perform specialized task. These functions include, searches for missing persons or fleeing felons, searches of burglarized buildings, narcotics detection and interdiction, bomb searches, weapons searches, crowd control and searches of arson scenes for the detection of accelerant. The unit is also involved in community relations work and gives demonstrations to schools, civic organizations and senior citizen groups.

The Union County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue Team is highly regarded for its professionalism and expertise. The Secret Service has requested our assistance during Presidential visits to the Union County area.

This expertise is a skill that requires constant retraining and schooling for both the dogs and handlers. Each dog and his handler must undergo 16 weeks of intensive training before certification is granted. This is supplemented by at least one hundred hours of in-service training in tracking, article and field searches. Arson and bomb dogs take additional training in chemical recognition. Search & Rescue Officers have been qualified as expert witnesses in New Jersey Superior Courts.

Under the Attorney General Guidelines in New Jersey, The Union County Sheriff's Office is a Regional Training Center for Northern New Jersey. The unit conducts semi-annual re-certification programs for our own officers and officers from local state and federal agencies.

The K-9 Unit is commanded by Sergeant John Gillespie, who along with Officer Brian Way are certified K-9 instructors.

SLAP (SHERIFF'S LABOR ASSISTANCE PROGRAM)

The Sheriff's Labor Assistance Program became operational in November 1993. This program is an alternative to incarceration where Superior and Municipal Court Judges have the latitude of sentencing non-violent offenders to work details supervised by the Sheriff's Office. Program participants are carefully screened and must meet stringent eligibility requirements.

The benefits SLAP offers to both society and the offender are readily apparent. Government saves the cost of incarceration, up to $200.00 per day while the offender works off his debt to society. The offender benefits because he is able to keep his job and remain at home with his family instead of experiencing an unproductive period of incarceration.

Sheriff's Officers have directed SLAP details
in all 21 Union County municipalities. These details vary and may involve roadside cleanup, public golf course or park maintenance, painting of municipal buildings or other community oriented projects.

All defendants sentenced to serve on the SLAP program must pay an administrative processing fee of $20.00. The sentencing judge in cases
of extreme financial hardship may waive this
fee assessment.

John Diorio is the SLAP supervisor, under
the direction of Lieutenant Roxann Banek.
There are seven Sheriff's Officers assigned
to this program.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

The Sheriff's Administrative Division is under the direction of Undersheriff Joseph P. Cryan. This Division contains the Administrative Offices of the Sheriff's Office, the Internal Affairs Unit,
the Training Unit, the Legal Process Unit and
the Chaplain's Office.

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE

This section is responsible for budget preparation, contract administration, personnel functions, payroll, purchasing, scheduling and the collection of all statistics used in the decision making process. A staff of three clerical assistants assists Undersheriff Joseph P. Cryan.

INTERNAL AFFAIRS UNIT

This section is responsible for the investigations of all allegations and complaints made against members of the Sheriff's Office. Its other responsibilities include background investigations for all prospective Sheriff's Officers and staff and compilation of Uniform Crime Reports. This unit also performs background investigations for other county agencies upon request.

Lt. Michael Frank is the Internal Affairs Officer. He is assisted by other staff members and officers on a case by case basis.

TRAINING UNIT

"Training is crucial to the professional performance of any law enforcement agency and the continued development of the
individual officer."

Ralph Froehlich 1978

The training unit is charged with ensuring that Sheriff's Officers maintain a specified level of
law enforcement proficiency. All new recruits
are sent to the John H. Stamler Police Academy where they receive 22 weeks of intensive
police training.

The Sheriff's Office has made a concerted effort to develop and maintain its own cadre of qualified police instructors. All of these officers are assigned to other units and they must allocate their time between training and their regular assignments.

Maintaining the desired level of law enforcement proficiency requires regular on the job training and scheduling of in-service training classes offered at the police academies. The following table list in-service training programs attended by Sheriff's officers during 1996.

IDENTIFICATION BUREAU

The Sheriff's Identification Bureau is located on the first floor of the New Jail Annex. Its primary responsibility is the collection and maintenance of fingerprints and pedigree information on all adult defendants who pass through the Union County Court System and all inmates housed in the Union County Jail.

New Federal and State laws implemented during 1996 have expanded this role. As of March 1996 the Identification Bureau began to process all juveniles housed in detention. They also must maintain files on all juvenile defendants regardless of age if they are adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would constitute a crime if committed by an adult. This processing includes the taking of fingerprints and identification photos. All juvenile information must be kept in separate files and under certain circumstances forwarded to the State Police or Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Captain Vincent Manning supervises the Identification Bureau and staffed by two sergeants, two detectives, seven Sheriff's Officers and 3 clerks who possess technical expertise in highly specialized law enforcement functions. Our Officers have been called to court to testify as expert witnesses in the identification of criminal suspects through fingerprint identification and classification.

ARSON TEAM

One of our Sheriff's Officers who has a background as a volunteer firefighter has been selected as an Arson Team member. His role is to determine the cause and origin of suspicious fires. All other Identification Officers are members of the Union County Arson Unit.
They respond to suspected arsons and
collect photographic evidence and physical measurements of the scene. This data is brought back to the Identification Bureau where a Detective prepares a scale drawing of the scene for grand jury and trial presentations.

FORENSIC ART UNIT

Sergeant Michael DeFilippo is the Department's Forensic Artist. He was trained at the Scottsdale Artist's School in Scottsdale Arizona. He assists Local and County Law Enforcement Agencies in a number of ways. Our Forensic
Art services include Composite Sketches,
Image Modification and post-mortem Identification Drawings.

Composite Sketches

Most people associate composite art with the drawing of faces from descriptions provided by victims or witnesses. Composite art can also include the drawing of jewelry, artifacts, weapons, vehicles, tattoos, clothing or even
full body drawings.

Image Modification

Image modification means the alteration, enhancement, or other manipulation of a photographic image in order to produce a representation more useful to the investigator.

There are two major categories:

• Appearance alterations of suspects - To achieve a more accurate suspect likeness by adding or subtracting age, weight, facial hair, glasses, hats, etc., to available (perhaps outdated) suspect photographs.

• Photo updates of victims - To provide an updated appearance image, especially in cases of missing children. This involves projected growth patterns of facial and skull anatomy.

Postmortem Identification

The two types of Postmortem Identification tools available are Postmortem Drawings
and Reconstruction.

Postmortem drawings are sketches of unidentified deceased persons in order to identify them through media distribution.

Reconstruction uses badly decomposed or completely skeletonized remains and a pathology report to create a likeness in order to identify the deceased individual.

LEGAL PROCESS UNIT

Chief Warrant Officer Lester Sargent directs
the Sheriff's Legal Process Unit. The unit is comprised of the Business Office and the Legal Process Squad. The Business Office has a staff of twelve clerical employees and performs all administrative and clerical function for the unit. The actual service of process is performed by two sergeants and six Sheriff's Officers assigned to the Legal Process Squad.

BUSINESS OFFICE

The clerical and administrative staff assigned
to the Business Office function as legal assistants to the Sheriff. They must be familiar with a wide range of statutes, rules, fees and procedures in order to perform their assigned tasks. All fees and commissions collected by
the Legal Process Unit are regulated by state statue. The revenues collected are remitted to the County of Union and placed in the general operating fund.

Each year the Superior Courts generate thousands of legal documents that must be processed by the Business Office staff. All documents must be reviewed for completeness, proper form and correct fees before they can be entered into the system. Once docketed these legal documents are assigned to the Legal Process Squad or to officers who are assigned to night service delivery territories.

LEGAL PROCESS SQUAD

The officers assigned to the Legal Process squad are responsible for the service of all legal process that comes through the business office. Service of process is a sensitive task that must be performed in accordance with court rules. The service of legal process papers by a Sheriff's Officer is usually the first exposure the public has to the trial court system. The professional demeanor of our officers establishes a first impression and sets the stage for all future contact with the legal system. For this reason, considerable emphasis is placed on the selection process.

Sheriff's Officers serve the following types
of legal process:

• SUMMONS & COMPLAINTS

• WRITS OF POSSESSION

• WRITS OF EXECUTION / WAGE GARNISHMENTS

• SUBPOENAS

• INDICTMENTS

• DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDERS

• MUNICIPAL COURT COMPLAINT PICKUPS