Squads & Units
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office is organized into multiple entities that focus on specific missions and a broad range of responsibilities. Each of these entities operate under the supervision of the Bergen County Prosecutor with the assistance of his Executive Leadership Team.
Legal Sections
The Appellate Section is responsible for researching and writing all the briefs, motions and petitions filed by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office in the New Jersey Appellate Division and Supreme Court, the United States District Court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. The section also handles de novo appeals to the Law Division from convictions in the municipal courts.
The Grand Jury Section has responsibility for the preparation and presentation of cases for indictment, with subsequent disposition by the Trial Section. The Grand Jury Section also handles Case Intake/Screening, the administration of the Pre-Indictment Program (PIP) and Drug Court proceedings. The Grand Jury Section consists of assistant prosecutors, detectives and clerical/paralegal staff.
The Juvenile Section of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office is responsible for the prosecution of juvenile delinquency cases heard in the Family Part of the Chancery Division of Superior Court. Cases processed in Bergen County indicate that juvenile offenders are increasingly younger than in previous years. Children under the age of 12 and those who are 12, 13, and 14 have been taken into custody for arsons, assaults and sexual assaults. Regardless of the reasons for their delinquency, younger offenders pose a unique challenge to the courts. The Juvenile Unit seeks to promote accountability for the juvenile’s actions, while protecting the community and seeking rehabilitation services to assist the juvenile in becoming a productive member of society.
The Trial Section is comprised of 12 Assistant Prosecutors, 3 Detectives, a Paralegal and Support Staff. These attorneys prosecute the majority of indictable criminal offenses brought by local, county, and state police law enforcement agencies. Court proceedings in these matters include, but are not limited to arraignments, motions, pre-trial conferences, trials, sentencing, and post-conviction relief issues.
Squads & Units
The Civil Unit of the Bergen County Prosecutor`s Office is responsible for prosecuting all civil forfeitures within Bergen County. In order to act as a deterrent against future crimes and to deprive criminals of the illicit gains of their crimes, New Jersey law pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:64-1 et. seq., permits the forfeiture of property that has been used, or is intended to be used, in furtherance of an unlawful activity arising from an indictable offense. The procedures to forfeit property as well as the use of property after forfeiture are subject to strict guidelines promulgated by the Office of the Attorney General. The Civil Unit prosecutes civil forfeiture actions where the State has seized currency, automobiles, real estate and other property received as proceeds or utilized in connection with or in furtherance of the underlying criminal activity. Some common examples of property that is subject to forfeiture include: illegal weapons, currency that is used to purchase drugs or promote loan sharking, automobiles used to transport illegal weapons or narcotics, laptops containing child pornography and homes where drugs are illegally distributed.
The Cyber Crimes Unit (CCU) is comprised of specially trained sworn law enforcement personnel, civilian agents, and prosecutor staff who handle the increasingly complicated matrix of technological devices and services and determine their impact on criminal investigations. The CCU has three equally important functions.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Domestic Violence Unit is responsible for prosecuting all indictable domestic violence crimes committed in Bergen County. The unit is also responsible for prosecuting all non-indictable contempt cases heard by the Superior Court – Family Division. In addition, the unit handles all allegations of willful non-support as referred by the Bergen County Probation Department Child Support Enforcement Unit, as well as matters alleging interference with custody. The unit also oversees the investigation of all police officer-involved acts of domestic violence, and is ultimately responsible for advising the Prosecutor concerning the rearming process for these individuals. Additionally, the unit handles all non-financial Elder Abuse cases.
The Financial Crimes Unit is responsible for the investigation of major theft and fraud offenses committed in Bergen County. Generally, the Financial Crimes Unit limits its participation in theft and fraud investigations to cases involving a loss of $75,000 or more. Due to the complex and multi-jurisdictional nature of theft and fraud investigations, the squad often assists local municipalities in cases requiring special expertise.
The mission of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Intelligence & Counterterrorism Unit is to collect, analyze, preserve, and disseminate intelligence information regarding criminal and terrorist activity in Bergen County. The unit also serves in the essential role as the County Counterterrorism Coordinator (CTC) of all law enforcement homeland security initiatives and is a partner with the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJ OHSP).
The Major Crimes Unit, which was formed in October 2003, encompasses the following investigative squads: Homicide, Cold Case Homicide, Arson and Fatal Accident.
The Special Investigations Squad, conducts investigations involving illegal gambling, criminal usury (loansharking), extortion, prostitution (massage parlors, escort services), murder for hire, traditional organized crime, armed robbery, carjacking, burglary, home invasion, kidnapping, theft by extortion and illegal possession and sale of firearms.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit responds to sexual assaults of adults, any sexual offense of a child, and significant physical abuse of a child. The unit consists of assistant prosecutors, investigators, an agent, a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner and a Victim Witness Advocate.
Specialized Units
The core function of the Animal Cruelty Task Force is the proactive investigation and prosecution of alleged cases of animal neglect and cruelty within Bergen County. The task force works in cooperation with local law enforcement in the investigation of all complaints. Community education is one component of the task force’s work.
The Bureau provides information systems and support to every law enforcement agency in Bergen County, which includes municipal, county, state and federal agencies. The services are provided through distributed computing systems over a countywide TCP/IP network. By utilizing these systems and the network, law enforcement personnel within the county can share information with each other as well as with state agencies like the New Jersey State Police and federal agencies like the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The Cold Case Task Force is responsible for the investigation of all cold case homicides within Bergen County. A murder investigation is deemed a cold case once all leads have been exhausted and the case remains opens and unsolved after a period of three years. The task force currently has 99 cold cases that it will ultimately investigate.
On December 1, 2006, in response to the increase in gang activity and gang related crime in Bergen County, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office created the Bergen County Gang Unit. The creation of the task force was in conjunction with the Office of the Bergen County Sheriff. Each police department in Bergen County has designated a police officer(s) as a gang task force member. The purpose of the County Gang Unit is to more effectively and jointly combat the rising increase in gang membership, gang activity and gang crime throughout Bergen County. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Gang Unit provides educational training and promotes a closer working relationship among gang investigators, law enforcement and the public. The Gang Unit also promotes extensive information gathering, rapid dissemination of intelligence and exchange of information concerning gang related incidents and membership. The information gathered is disseminated between law enforcement agencies within and outside of Bergen County. Additionally, the Gang Unit enforces the criminal statutes of the State of New Jersey through investigation and prosecution.
