0820 Department of Justice
Program Descriptions

11 - DIRECTORATE AND ADMINISTRATION

The Directorate and the Administration Division of the Department of Justice consists of the Division of Administrative Support and the Attorney General's Executive Office. The executive office maintains overall direction and administration over the diverse programs and projects of the department, including the Equal Employment Rights and Resolution Office, the Office of Program Review and Audits, the Opinions Unit, the Solicitor General's Unit, the Office of Legislative Affairs, the Office of Communications and the Public Inquiry Unit. In addition, the Division of Administrative Support provides support functions essential to the department's operations, including fiscal, personnel, and specialized services such as legal secretarial support, litigation support, and legal case management services.

20 - LEGAL SERVICES

Legal Services is organized into three elements: (1) Civil Law, (2) Criminal Law, and (3) Public Rights.

Civil Law represents the State of California and its officers, agencies, departments, boards, commissions and employees in civil matters. It provides advice to these clients, defends cases brought against them and prosecutes cases to vindicate state interests. Deputy Attorneys General in Civil Law have primary responsibility to manage and litigate cases in both state and federal courts at the trial level and on appeal, including appeals before the United States and California Supreme Courts. Deputies work in one of eight sections: Business and Tax; Correctional Law; Employment and Administrative Mandates; Government Law; Health, Education and Welfare; Health Quality Enforcement; Licensing; or Tort and Condemnation.

Criminal Law represents the State in criminal matters before the Appellate and Supreme courts. Criminal Law also fulfills the Attorney General's responsibilities of assisting district attorneys in cases for which they are recused, conducts criminal investigations and prosecutes those engaged in illegal activities where local resources are inadequate to perform these functions, and defends state and federal habeas corpus matters. Additional responsibilities include enforcing the Political Reform Act, advising the Governor on extradition matters, investigating and prosecuting Medi-Cal provider fraud, investigating and prosecuting the abuse or neglect of elder and dependent adults residing in long-term health care facilities, and investigating, prosecuting, and coordinating litigation involving white-collar crime, high-tech/computer crime, and financial crimes against the elderly.

Public Rights protects and preserves the public interest by providing legal services to state agencies and Constitutional Officers and by bringing actions in the name of the Attorney General to protect the public. Public Rights provides specialized services in the following areas: Civil Rights Enforcement; Charitable Trusts (including Registry of Charitable Trusts); Natural Resources Law; Corporate Fraud (including False Claims, Underground Economy, Energy and Corporate Responsibility); Indian and Gaming Law; Environment Law; Land Law; Consumer Law; Antitrust Law; and Tobacco Litigation Enforcement

50 - LAW ENFORCEMENT

The Division of Law Enforcement is organized into five elements: (1) Bureau of Firearms, (2) Bureau of Forensic Services, (3) Bureau of Gambling Control, (4) California Bureau of State Investigations, and (5) the Office of the Director.

The Bureau of Firearms provides oversight, enforcement, education and regulation of California's firearms/dangerous weapon laws by conducting firearms eligibility background checks and administering over thirty different state-mandated firearms-related programs. The Bureau conducts firearms dealer and manufacturer inspections and provides training as needed. Special Agents conduct investigations on armed and prohibited persons and other investigations resulting in the seizure of weapons. Agents also conduct firearms investigations to prevent illegal gun trafficking at in-state and out-of-state gun shows in accordance with state and federal law.

The Bureau of Forensic Services provides evaluation and analysis of physical evidence including expert court testimony to state and local law enforcement agencies, district attorneys, and courts, by operating 11 specialized laboratories that serve 46 counties as well as a forensic training facility and a DNA laboratory that is compiling and maintaining a database of sex and violent offenders.

The Bureau of Gambling Control regulates legal gambling activities in California to ensure gambling is conducted honestly and is free from criminal and corruptive elements by investigating the qualifications of individuals who apply for state gambling licenses and monitoring the conduct of these licensees to ensure compliance with the Gambling Control Act. Further, it conducts criminal investigations in, on or about tribal casinos and cardrooms. Its role also includes regulating tribal gaming by ensuring that each tribe is in compliance with all aspects of the gaming compact entered into between the tribe and the state.

The California Bureau of State Investigations (CBSI) leads the investigations of crimes that present serious multi-jurisdictional threats to California. CBSI prioritizes cases involving human trafficking, environmental crimes, public corruption, mortgage and other major frauds, underground economy cases, and digital or high-technology crimes. In addition, the Bureau provides leadership, coordination, and support to law enforcement through multi-agency drug and gang task forces, and special operations units.

The Office of the Director (OD) enhances public safety through training, technical, intelligence and administrative support to the investigative, regulatory and forensic components of the DLE and other criminal justice agencies. OD serves as the policy-making and oversight body for its four operational bureaus.

60 - CALIFORNIA JUSTICE INFORMATION SERVICES

The California Justice Information Services Division provides criminal justice intelligence, information, and identification services to law enforcement, regulatory agencies, and the public. Four major functional areas carry out these primary services. 1) The Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigative Services consolidates the identification, investigative, and field services functions, providing information and technical assistance on manual and automated systems including the fingerprint identification system and the violent crime information system. 2) The Bureau of Criminal Information and Analysis consolidates the functions related to the authorization, release, and use of criminal offender record information for law enforcement investigatory and regulatory purposes. 3) The Hawkins Data Center operates the Criminal Justice Information System and the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, and 4) the Operations Support Program provides business resumption planning and administrative support and oversight.