Opinion No. (2007)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General MARC J. NOLAN Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE JOHN SARSFIELD, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, COUNTY OF SAN BENITO, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a person appointed as an unpaid, volunteer investigator by a district attorney qualify as a "peace officer"? CONCLUSION A person appointed as an unpaid, volunteer investigator by a district attorney may qualify as a "peace officer" provided that he or she is assigned to perform investigative duties and otherwise meets all standards imposed by law. *Page 2 ANALYSIS We are informed that a district attorney is considering the appointment of a person to be an unpaid, volunteer investigator. 1 We are asked whether the appointment would qualify the person as a "peace officer." We conclude that it would. Penal Code section 830 2 establishes the basic standard for attaining the classification of a "peace officer": "Any person who comes within the provisions of this chapter and who otherwise meets all standards imposed by law on a peace officer is a peace officer, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person other than those designated in this chapter is a peace officer. The…