PHOENIX – County Attorney Bill Montgomery announced a new organizational structure for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office today designed to enhance the prosecution of serious felony offenses. Eleven specialized crime bureaus previously organized into two divisions known as Major Crimes 1 and 2 will be reallocated among three newly created divisions focused on distinct categories of criminal cases:

• Major Offenders Division will oversee the Capital Litigation, Gangs, Repeat Offender and Vehicular Crimes Bureaus
• Organized Crime Division will handle cases assigned to the Fraud and Identity Theft Enforcement (FITE), Asset Recovery, Drug Enforcement and Special Crimes Bureaus.
• Special Victims Division will contain the Family Violence, Sex Crimes and Auto Theft Bureaus.

“This new structure will allow us to maximize resources and strengthen working relationships with our law enforcement agency partners to effectively target specific offender populations,” Montgomery said. “Our goal is to leverage prosecution policies and programs in response to a changing criminal threat environment and provide a measurable, positive impact on public safety,” he added.

The reorganization of the Major Crimes Divisions is the latest development in an office-wide realignment that began in January 2014 with the creation of the Community-Based Prosecution Division containing four bureaus, each focused on a separate geographic region of Maricopa County:

• Central Valley Bureau prosecutes crimes occurring in the central precincts of the City of Phoenix Police Department (Central City, Mountain View, Desert Horizon), as well as the cities of Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, and District 4 of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
• Northwest Valley Bureau prosecutes crimes occurring in the north and west precincts of the City of Phoenix Police Department (Cactus Park, Black Mountain), the cities of Glendale, El Mirage, Peoria, Surprise, Wickenburg, and District 3 of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (including Lake Pleasant).
• East Valley Bureau prosecutes crimes occurring in the cities of Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Fountain Hills, and Districts 1, 5, 6, and 7 of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
• Southwest Valley Bureau prosecutes crimes occurring in the south precincts of the City of Phoenix Police Department (South Mountain, Estrella Mountain, Maryvale), the cities of Goodyear, Buckeye, Tolleson, Avondale, and District 2 of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

The Community-Based Prosecution Division handles a wide variety of offenses ranging from property crimes to homicide. Cases involving capital offenses or serious crimes requiring specific expertise will be assigned to one of the specialized crime bureaus in the Major Offenders, Organized Crime or Special Victims Divisions.

“Community-Based Prosecution is a proven approach to reducing crime and addressing specific public safety needs than can vary widely in a large jurisdiction like ours,” Montgomery said. “Together with the changes announced today, this office wide realignment positions us to continue serving the residents of Maricopa County effectively and efficiently.”

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