Explain why it is that large prosecutors’ offices have specialized units to deal with certain crimes and give the advantages of this system.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

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.