Explain why it is that large prosecutors' offices have specialized units to deal with certain crimes and give the advantages of this system.
What will be an ideal response?
Large prosecutors' offices maintain a bureaucratic organizational structure. Consider, for example, the organizational chart for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office in Figure 5.1. While the elected district attorney, Lynne Abraham, sits atop the organization, everyday operations of the office are overseen by a first assistant and several deputies who oversee the five nonadministrative divisions maintained by the office. Each of these divisions represents a general area for which the office is responsible. Within each division are a number of units or teams that were established to help focus the regular operations of the office. Finally, within each unit, team, or task force, up to several dozen assistant district attorneys carry out specific duties for the office. In many prosecutors' offices, units or teams are established to deal with the prosecution of specific classes of crimes. In Philadelphia, for example, the district attorney's office has units that deal only with prosecuting homicides, sexual assaults and acts of family violence, economic crimes, and repeat offenders. By having groups of prosecutors focus on specific types of crime, a district attorney's office builds up high levels of expertise in areas that are of significant seriousness and public importance.
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