In the State of Georgia, criminal justice matters fall into the hands of the office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. The job of the Georgia Attorney General is to accurately represent the people of Georgia in court during civil and criminal case hearings. The Attorney General also provides legal counsel to state officers, agencies, boards and interested commissions.
Moreover, the role of the Attorney General’s office is to help the district attorneys and also criminal justice agencies at all levels of government to successfully administer justice. Law enforcement agencies are helped by the United States Attorney to complete criminal investigations and cater to their forensic science needs. Protecting the public from frauds and illegal activities and improving public safety are also goals this office aims to achieve. Protecting the environment and natural resources through enforcement processes are other additional elements that define the work of this legal institution. The chief federal law enforcement office also needs to oversee the prosecution of federal crimes and the litigation of civil issues in which the government is directly involved. The office personnel are comprised of around 100 lawyers and 80 support personnel.
The Criminal Division which can be accessed here https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/criminal is one of the most important and largest divisions in the office. The people who work here are responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases that are related to a diversified array of criminal activity. The fight against terrorism is also an important matter that is being taken into account here. The same goes for the use of criminal law tools that can find, discontinue and stop terrorists and their supporters. There are three main sections that are part of the main Criminal Division: Major Crimes; Narcotics and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and Economic Crime, featuring Criminal Appeals and the Victim-Witness program.
The district’s Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council (ATAC) and Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) focus on preventing terrorism.The Human Trafficking division is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of individuals who are involved in human trafficking, enslaving activities and illegal sex trades. Plus, the United States Attorney’s Office also partners with federal and state or local law enforcement agencies and many non-governmental organizations to ensure the success of their activities. Violations of civil rights or the Project Safe Childhood that was created in February 2006 (nationwide initiative meant to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse) also need to be mentioned here. Additionally, Project Safe Neighborhoods is yet another complex national initiative that wants to bring all the leaders of the communities and all the law enforcement agencies together in order to locate communities with gangs and gun-related criminal acts. The program has been designed to capture and imprison the people committing these crimes.
The Economic Crime Section works towards uncovering fraud schemes such as corporate fraud, theft of intellectual property, bank or mortgage fraud and identity theft or ponzi schemes. By involving Georgian citizens into these programs of crime prevention and eradication, the Georgia Department of Justice and Office of the Attorney General succeeds into making citizens more aware of the crime happening in their area and improve their protection. The Office of Attorney General also provides consumer protection. It also helps the local law enforcement agencies to better target their crime prevention programs. This way, the Office manages to add more success to the uncovering illegal operations in the area.
Another aspect that is being covered by the Office of Attorney general refers to fraud against the government, particularly the U.S. Treasury and government programs that are much preferred by felons. Immigration fraud is yet another aspect covered here. A lot of these cases are uncovered by the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force that is being led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Information for victims and witnesses is offered by the Victim Witness Assistance Program.