NEW LEGISLATION MEANS RESTRICTIONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

Agencies Must Not Obtain A Warrant Before Putting A Wire On An Informant.

BUCKHANNON -- The State Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that
law enforcement agencies would have to obtain a warrant before
placing a wire on informants.

After a recent special legislative session, Governor Joe Manchin
signed a bill that eased some of those restrictions but it is still
keeping many departments hand-cuffed when it comes to surveillance.

When the court made its ruling, it said that if you wanted to place a
wire on an informant and send him into a suspect's home, you first
had to get a warrant to do so. But only five circuit court judges in
the state were authorized to grant those warrants.

The bill signed by the Governor allows any circuit judge or
magistrate to sign those warrants. But many departments, including
the Upshur County Sheriff's Department, said it still is a major road block.

If a department has a tip that a drug deal is going down, they would
first have to get their warrant approved before allowing their
informant to enter into a buy.

That takes time, something that law enforcement agencies say they do
not have when it comes to drug deals.

Upshur County Sheriff Virgil Miller is very unhappy with both
decisions. Miller said his department will follow the law and take
the necessary steps to obtain their surveillance warrants.