It was recently reported that a new anti-crime task force will be established in western Massachusetts. Government officials hope that the group will lead to more efficient coordination of investigation into major crimes.
David Sullivan, the Northwestern District Attorney, discussed his hopes for the task force, which include enhancing the investigative capabilities of the Narcotics Unit of the Massachusetts State Police, in particular. The task force will be comprised of a coregroup of detectives from throughout the region, who will be able to better organize their efforts in order to obtain search warrants, audio and video surveillance, and otherwise coordinate undercover investigations and related activities.
The police departments for Greenfield, Montague, Amherst, Athol and Northampton and sheriff’s departments of Franklin and Hampshire will each contribute an officer or detective to the task force, for up to 25 hours each week. Additionally, Sullivan’s office recently received a grant for additional funding for the new task force. I applaud the state’s efforts to better coordinate investigations. Better organization will hopefully lead to a more efficient use of state resources.
Importance of Having a Defense Attorney on Your Side
Unfortunately for many citizens currently facing charges, law enforcement agencies do not always get the facts straight, and this can lead to people being charged with crimes they did not commit, or having evidence collected in improper or illegal ways.
For example, in Massachusetts, if you are convicted of a sex crime, not only will you face some harsh punitive measures, but you will also be required to register as a sex offender with the Sex Offender Registry Board. Your level of classification is partly dependent upon evidence you present and documents filed with the court on your behalf. An experienced sex crimes attorney can advise you on what evidence will be in your best interests, as well as how to approach your hearings. The required registration period is 20 years to life, so you’ll want to make sure that the best evidence is being presented on your behalf.
One example of the sort of expertise an experienced attorney can bring to your case, is in the area of character evidence. In our justice system, there are certain areas of criminal law, which can include sex crimes, which allow for character evidence to be introduced against you in order to prove your propensity to commit such crimes, both in order to establish guilt, or later to prove you deserve a harsher sentence.
An experienced Criminal Defense Attorney can ensure that irrelevant and unnecessarily harmful character evidence will not be introduced against you. One example of this might be if for example you had a neighbor who did not like you for some unfounded reason, such as you didn’t put your garbage cans away fast enough after garbage collection day, and they used that as a basis to form an overall opinion of your character. Your attorney can make sure their unfounded “feelings” regarding your character are not given enough credence to amount to evidence against you in a criminal law proceeding.
Patrick J. Murphy is a Boston Massachusetts criminal defense attorney whose entire practice is dedicated to Massachusetts criminal defense. For nearly 20 years, Attorney Murphy has been dedicated to aggressively and successfully defending clients accused of various types of crimes and providing representation on a wide range of criminal defense matters. He takes pride in being a relentless Criminal Defense Attorney you can trust.
To schedule a confidential consultation, you can contact us online, or call 617-367-0450 24/7.
More Blog Posts
In Massachusetts More Gun Laws Don’t Mean Less Crime, Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog, published February 11, 2013
Massachusetts Legislator Seeks to Expand Secret Wiretapping, Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog, published February 3, 2013