The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division primarily concentrates on executing warrants.  Warrants generally fall into three categories:  criminal bench warrants, non-support (Family Court) warrants, and miscellaneous warrants, which include magistrates’ warrants and warrants issued in other counties or states.  Sheriff’s detectives also at times participate in law enforcement task forces, such as the Interstate Theft Task Force, the Greater Pittsburgh Fugitive Task Force, the Pittsburgh Violent Traffickers Task Force, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the Western Pennsylvania Career Criminal Firearms Trafficking Task Force. 

This division is responsible for Criminal, Family, and Foreign-Warrant investigations; providing investigative aide to Municipal Law Enforcement Agencies requesting assistance in locating wanted persons on a local level; background checks; accident investigations; public complaints; firearms permit revocations; House Arrest revocations; jail escapes and releases; Alternative Housing escapes; providing investigative aide to Municipal Law Enforcement Agencies in locating lost or missing individuals upon request; conducting joint investigations with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies upon request; investigating criminal incidents in the Courthouse, Courts and Family Court building; testifying in court; act as custodians for all PFA firearm seizures in Allegheny County; departmental evidence custodians; providing dignitary, judge, or witness protection; Uniform Crime Report statistics; and assisting Federal task forces and nuisance bar task forces.

The members of the Fugitive Squad are responsible for executing criminal warrants issued against individuals who have never been apprehended for the crime for which they have been charged or who have failed to appear for court hearings or trials.  The Fugitive Squad gives its highest priority to apprehending those individuals charged with committing the most serous crimes, such as murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, and burglary, since those persons pose the most serious threat to the community.  Sheriff’s detectives also execute foreign warrants, which are warrants issued outside of Allegheny County, including those issued by other states for persons suspected of being in Allegheny County.

 Each detective carries a number of warrants in their file.  Once detectives do a full background check on the actor, the squad’s sergeant will put a list together for a particular area of the County.  Executing warrants can be extremely dangerous and great attention to safety must be given.  Many of the suspects have extensive criminal records for violent crimes and/or drug or weapons possession.

The members of the Non-Support squad are responsible for conducting investigations that result in the locating and apprehension of individuals who have failed to appear in Family Division Court for whom arrest warrants have been issued.  Supervisors assign cases, approve all reports, prepare the daily paper work, field questions, take complaints, make recommendations, supervise field operations, and aid with investigations.  Each of the detectives is assigned new cases on a daily basis and each carries a caseload that numbers in the dozens.  They conduct individual investigations that vary in duration with the purpose of affecting an arrest.  Every investigation begins with a detective doing a complete background check that includes criminal history, driver’s license information, a check for any other outstanding wants or warrants, as well as for the availability of photographs and fingerprints.  All warrant information is then entered into a computer, copies are made, and the original is filed away.  Thousands of warrants are on file at the Sheriff’s Office and many new ones arrive each day.  Detectives also field telephone calls from the case plaintiffs or others  who may supply information that may aid in the case.  Some cases are much more difficult than others and may require a great deal of time and effort.  Depending on just how elusive a particular warrant suspect is, or how many clues are available, it is not unusual for detectives to conduct many hours of surveillance and interviews, or prepare search warrants or court orders to obtain vital case information such as, but not limited to, personal records or other documents that may help in the investigation.

Although the non-support warrant is basically for non-payment of child support, many of the warrant suspects also have extensive criminal records for violent crimes and or drug or weapons possession.  

Once a warrant is executed, all arrested parties are taken to either the Allegheny County jail or the holding cell at the Family Court Division of the Sheriff’s Office where they will await their respective hearings.  The detectives must then assure that the warrant or warrants are properly cleared, that Family Court is notified of the apprehension, and that all arrest reports are completed.

Non-Support squad detectives are also responsible for investigating and executing what is known as “foreign warrants”.  They are non-support arrest warrants that are sent from jurisdictions outside of Allegheny County by law enforcement agencies whose members believe that their warrant suspect is in Allegheny County.