Criminal Investigations

The Criminal Investigative Bureau also known as the Detective Bureau currently consists of four officers assigned as detectives, as well as, five officers assigned as school resource officers. The unit is commanded by Lt. James D’Averso and supervised by DSgt. William Knecht

The Detective Bureau is currently manned by Det. Patrick Robey, Det. Mark Hunsinger and Det. Tim O’Hanlon. The Criminal investigative Bureau is responsible for a multitude of duties. First and foremost, they are responsible for the investigation into all significant criminal incidents occurring in the township. They include unattended deaths, robberies, assaults, burglaries, sexual assaults, among many others. They will also be assigned specific special investigations by the Police Administration as necessary. The cases worked by the detectives require that all evidence, reports, and supporting documentation are complete and prepared for trial. To assist them in the performance of their duties, the detectives have a multitude of specialized training to include criminal investigations, interviewing and interrogations, and crime scene processing. In addition, the detectives, like the SROs, conduct a multitude of background investigations. They include pre-employment background investigations for police positions and both paid and volunteer fire and EMS positions. They also include background investigations into various organizations for raffle permits, solicitor permits, and social affair permits. The detectives are responsible for ensuring all establishments licensed to sell liquor in the Township are adhering to all Alcohol Beverage Control guidelines. Finally, the unit is responsible for the oversight of all persons classified under Megan’s Law. That includes ensuring registration and physical address verifications of those offenders.

The School Resource Unit is comprised of a supervisor and five officers: SGT. Joseph Canuso, Officer John Higgins, Officer John Sabados, Officer Chris Sentell and Officer Nicole Fellona.

Officer John Sabados is assigned to the Burlington County Institute of Technology (Medford Campus), Officer Higgins is assigned to Shawnee High School, Officer Sentell is assigned to Lenape High School and Officer Fellona is assigned to the Medford Township School District. These assignments are possible because of a shared services agreement with the Lenape Regional High School District, the Burlington County Institute of Technology and the Medford Township School District. Medford Township is reimbursed the full salary of those officers for the ten months they are assigned to the school. Their responsibilities include providing security at the schools, enforcing all criminal and local laws in the school, conducting presentations to students and staff in various areas including substance abuse and internet safety. The SROs are also responsible to conduct criminal investigations and develop information to assist other members of the agency in their investigations. A large portion of their function is to assist school administrators with the development and updating of their crisis manuals; a function that has become extremely relevant in light of recent tragedies throughout the country.

The Community Relations Unit is comprised of members from various bureaus from the agency. Their goal is to improve and enhance the relationship of the community and do so in a number of events. Annually the Community Relations Unit organizes National Night Out in August, the Junior Police Academy, and S.T.R.O.N.G (formerly D.A.R.E). Throughout the year, unit members also take part in coffee with a cop, fire prevention week, departmental tours, presentations about social media and drug awareness, bicycle safety, and protection yourself against fraud.