As with most law enforcement organizations, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office requires a support staff who provide and maintain an appropriate setting for key activities like case investigation and legal processing.

Extradition is the process by which one government jurisdiction surrenders an individual found on its territory to another jurisdiction where the individual is wanted either to stand trial for an offence he or she is alleged to have committed, or to serve a penal sentence already pronounced against him or her. Because Essex County lies at the crossroads of national and world commerce and has a highly mobile population, much criminal activity involves persons who reside or who flee beyond the County Prosecutor's jurisdiction. In such instances, the Prosecutor's Office must institute extradition proceedings with the state or foreign nation where the wanted party is found.

Extradition is a very technical area of law enforcement, which is strictly regulated by State and Federal law, interstate compacts and international treaties. Within the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, extradition requests are presented and argued by Assistant Prosecutors assigned to relevant cases; a County Investigator is assigned to facilitate the overall extradition process. Some of the functions involved in the extradition process include preparing requests for Governor's warrants, preparation of Interstate Compact forms, the arraignment of fugitives, the execution of Waivers of Extradition, the arrangement of habeas corpus hearings, execution of appropriate documents, and reporting and evaluation.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office typically executes from 200 to 300 interstate requests each year, for persons incarcerated in another jurisdiction facing charges in Essex County. After adjudication within this County, the person will generally be returned to the other jurisdiction in order to complete their sentence, and later be returned to Essex County to serve any new sentence imposed there. The Office executes from 300 to 400 regular extraditions annually, involving a one-way transfer from an outside jurisdiction to Essex County (following a hearing decision or waiver). The Office coordinates its extradition activity with various statewide and federal task forces that address specific criminal concerns, e.g. narcotics trafficking, organized crime, etc.
 

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