In California, criminal justice issues fall under the office of the Attorney General. The job of the California Attorney General is to represent the people of California in court, both in civil and criminal cases. This office provides the legal counsel to state officers, agencies, boards, and commissions.
The Attorney General’s office is responsible for helping California district attorneys and criminal justice agencies at all levels of government in administering justice. The California Attorney General’s office provides support to law enforcement across the State of California when it comes to criminal investigations, forensic science needs, telecommunications, and statewide services for providing identification and information about criminals.
The California Attorney General’s office also strives to protect the public from fraud and other illegal activities that citizens commonly fall victim to. The office is committed to enhancing California public safety and bolstering laws that protect the environment and natural resources through enforcement. The Attorney General serves a four year term and is elected to office by the people of the State of California. There is a two-term limit for this office.
The office of the California Attorney General provides a variety of services to the public through various bureaus, divisions, and programs. One of the services provided is Crime Data, which helps citizens of California be aware of crime in their area and keep themselves and their families safe. It also helps California law enforcement agencies target their crime prevention programs. Moreover, it enables the Attorney General to identify trends in CA crime and prepare both state and local law enforcement agencies accordingly. Crime date enables the California criminal justice system to understand the flow of prisoners in and out of the system as well. At the Crime Date website, located at https://oag.ca.gov/crime, you can find more than 5,000 statistical tables, 59 reports, 29 publications, as well as a variety of links to statistics gathered by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and other criminal statistics services.
Another key function of the Attorney General’s office is to provide consumer protection for the people of California. The economy is full of people looking to cash in on the destitution of the average Californian who has suffered from its decline. The Attorney General’s office not only prosecutes individuals engaged in unlawful activities that harm consumers, but also provides a lot of information that empowers people in California to protect themselves. By visiting https://oag.ca.gov/consumers, you can learn about scams involving predatory lending, foreclosure consultants, credit repair companies, and debt consolidators and collectors. If you have been victimized by a CA company engaging in illegal activities, contact the Attorney General’s office for help recovering money you’ve lost. They will make an effort to shut down the illegal operations in question.
The California Attorney General’s Division of Law Enforcement encompasses a variety of bureaus related to specific law enforcement issues. These include the Bureau of Firearms, the Bureau of Forensic Services, the Bureau of Gambling Control, the Bureau of Investigation & Intelligence, the Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse, and the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. A team of highly trained special agents and staff carries out of the functions of these California bureaus. They conduct narcotic and criminal investigations, enforce laws and regulations, and perform training and education services. The division partners with other law enforcement agencies to bring criminal street gangs, narcotics traffickers, and other criminals in California to justice. The California eCrime Unit investigates and prosecutes individuals who engage in illegal activities that span more than one jurisdiction, including organizations, networks and groups involved in identity theft and technology crime. This CA unit focuses on individuals that use electronic technology to commit crimes, as well as crimes against intellectual property and evolving criminal issues related to technology in California.
Yet another aspect of this complex office is the California Victims’ Services Unit. This provides victims of crime in California and their families with guidance through the criminal justice process. This unit is dedicated to protecting victims’ rights. Marsy’s Law expanded victims’s rights, ensuring notification of the evolution of a case being prosecuted by the California Attorney General, or of appeals to a case. The California Victims’ Services Unit also encompasses the Missing Persons Unit, which assists law enforcement agencies in locating missing persons and identifying found persons in California. This unit provides a database for searching for missing persons, the publication of missing persons bulletins and posters, as well as the compilation of CA missing persons statistics.