OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY
District Attorney Gerald C. Benito
Assistant District Attorney Robert J. Maloney
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DA Functions and Roles |
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Information included in this website describes the function and role of the Office of the District Attorney. The goal of providing this information is to give the citizens of Shasta County a better and more complete understanding of the functions and responsibilities of the District Attorney's Office.
The District Attorney also wants to recognize and express appreciation for the hard work and dedication of all members of the law enforcement community with whom we work on a daily basis, the support we receive from the Board of Supervisors in carrying out our duties, and the help we receive on a daily basis from the citizens of our county who help us protect our communities by serving as trial jurors, testifying in court as witnesses, and supporting law enforcement in general.
FUNCTIONS AND ROLE OF THE OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY
The California Constitution and the California Government Code provide
authority for the various state and county officers by describing their
responsibilities, functions, and roles. The District Attorney is
one of the designated county officers and is established by the California
Constitution. The District Attorney is the chief law enforcement officer
of the county. The District Attorney is an elected official who serves
a term of four years. The District Attorney acts both as a county officer
and as a state officer in performing the duties of the office.
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PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
The Shasta County District Attorney acts as the public prosecutor for
all crimes committed in Shasta County (California Government Code Section
26500). In order to fulfill the duties of public prosecutor, the District
Attorney employs attorneys (deputy district attorneys), investigators,
and support staff.
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CRIMINAL PROSECUTION DIVISION
The District Attorney employs 23 deputy district attorneys in the criminal
division of the office. The deputy district attorneys serve as prosecutors
for criminal cases in Shasta County. The page of this website entitled
Criminal Prosecution Division provides
details on how the prosecutors are organized to meet the public prosecution
needs of the county.
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BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
The District Attorney is empowered to conduct independent investigations.
The investigators employed by the District Attorney are sworn peace officers
who work in the Bureau of Investigations. The page of the website entitled
Bureau of Investigations provides details
on how the investigators in the Bureau are organized and what crimes are
investigated by District Attorney investigators.
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IMPROVING THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN SHASTA COUNTY
The District Attorney is also authorized under the California Government Code to "…sponsor, supervise, or participate in any project or program to improve the administration of justice…" In Shasta County, the Office of the District Attorney is taking an active role to participate in and assist in sponsoring the following projects/programs:
ANTI-DRUG PROGRAMS
The Office of The District Attorney is an active participant in programs focused on fighting the impact of drugs in our community. The Methamphetamine Task Force, the Drug Endangered Children (DEC) Program, the Shasta Inter-Agency Narcotic Task Force (SINTF) are included in the programs currently supported by the District Attorney. The page of this website entitled Criminal Prosecution Division provides additional information on the activities of District Attorney staff involved specifically in anti-drug programs.
ABDUCTED CHILDREN RECOVERY
The taking of a child either by a parent or another person can be a traumatic experience for both the child and the parent who may be desperately attempting to get the child home. District Attorney staff are specifically assigned to assist parents in locating and recovering a missing child. District Attorney staff work closely with law enforcement and other agencies throughout the United States, and sometimes other countries to locate and recover missing children. The page of this website entitled Criminal Prosecution Division and the page entitled Bureau of Investigation provide additional information on the activities of the District Attorney's staff specifically involved in efforts to locate and recover abducted children.
ANTI-TRUANCY PROGRAMS
Ensuring that children are in school and have the opportunity to learn is another area for which the District Attorney's Office has allocated staff efforts and resources. The page of this website titled Criminal Prosecution Division provides additional information on the activities of DA Staff specifically involved in anti-truancy efforts.
ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF CRIMES
It is vital that victims and witnesses of crimes are not overlooked. The District Attorney has initiated specific efforts to provide direct assistance to victims and witnesses of crimes. Staff employed by the District Attorney operate the Victim Witness Assistance Center of Shasta County and directly provide assistance to both victims and witnesses. In addition, the District Attorney's Office also assists and teams with other community agencies who are providing support and assistance to victims in Shasta County. The page of this website entitled Victim Witness Assistance Program provides details on the program, its services and how you may contact the program.
ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF "BAD CHECKS"
Merchants and residents of Shasta County are often victimized by "bad checks.' The Bad Check Enforcement Program operated by staff of the District Attorney's Office provides assistance to victims of bad check writers. The page of this website entitled Bad Check Enforcement Program provides details on the program, its services, and how you may contact the program.
COMPUTER CRIMES INVESTIGATIONS
Shasta County, like all areas, has seen the increasing trend of computers
being linked to the commission of crimes. Whether there is evidence of
a crime contained in the information stored on a computer, the crime being
committed via the Internet using a computer, or the crime involving the
illegal access to a computer or computer system, the law enforcement community
in Shasta County is obligated to be able to effectively investigate and
prosecute those who commit crimes via computer. In response to this issue,
the District Attorney has assigned investigators to target computer crimes.
The DA Investigators will team with other law enforcement agencies in
county wide efforts to work on this issue.
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INFORMATION ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Many citizens rarely come in contact with the Criminal Justice System.
A page of this website is a page entitled Overview
of the Criminal Justice System and will provide the reader with explanations
of some of the key steps in the prosecution of a case, definitions of
several key terms, and answers to several questions often asked by victims
and witnesses of crimes.
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