There is a pervasive gang problem in Essex County. The three largest gangs operating in Essex County are the Gangster Blood Nation (The Bloods), The Crips, and The Almighty Latin King Nation (Latin Kings, ALKQN). In response to this growing problem, former Acting Prosecutor Donald C. Campolo, in early 2001, created a Gang Unit. The initial mission of the Unit was to gather intelligence on gang activity and identify gang members in Essex County.

The formation of the Gang Unit came at a time when members of the Bloods were on trial for two murders in Essex County. The following year, the Unit, along with the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey State Police began an extensive investigation of Blood activity in Essex County. This investigation resulted in eight indictments of twenty four gang members or gang associates on conspiracy and racketeering charges.

The gangs that are operating in Essex County are heavily involved in narcotics trafficking. The involvement of gang members in narcotics related activities has resulted in a high level of interaction between members of the Unit and members of the Prosecutor’s Narcotics Task Force. In 2003, the Gang Unit along with the ECPO Narcotics Task Force moved into a new headquarters furnished with appropriate investigative equipment and information processing / communication facilities. The Gang Unit is thus co-located with the ECPO Narcotics Task Force.

The Unit retains cases for vertical prosecution, allowing an assigned Assistant Prosecutor to handle a case from inception to disposition. The AP is responsible for all preliminary investigation, grand jury presentation and trials of all matters. Vertical prosecution provides a familiarity with the investigation, evidence and witnesses that is essential to successful prosecution. The Gang Unit prosecutor also monitors and tracks the gang member when he enters the criminal justice system for the purpose of bail applications or debriefing by investigative staff. Lastly, the gang prosecutor appears in court on all matters relative to the prosecution of the case.

In late 2005, Prosecutor Dow and Christopher Christie, the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, formed the Essex Federal Gang Suppression Task. This is a federal-state task force consisting of Assistant United States Attorneys, Assistant Essex County Prosecutors, ECPO detectives, Newark Police detectives, Essex County Sheriff's detectives, a deputy United States Marshall and special agents from the FBI, DEA, ATF and ICE. This task force, which is located within the ECPO Gang Unit, has been charged with investigating and targeting dangerous sets of the various street gangs operating in Essex County. In 2006, the members of the Essex Federal Gang Task Force began separate investigations into two different gang related criminal enterprises. One of these enterprises involves the sale of large quantities of controlled dangerous substances and high powered firearms. The other enterprise involved the distribution of large amounts of prescription pain medication on the streets of downtown Newark. Both of these investigations continued into 2007 and were successfully concluded with numerous arrests and the seizures of many firearms and more than $100,000 worth of narcotics.

In addition to the aforesaid investigations mounted by the federal-state task force component, the ECPO Gang Unit opened 38 investigations in 2007 and completed 38 investigations (with 23 pending at start and end of year), resulting in 42 defendants charged and 36 defendants indicted. Gang Unit investigative personnel also identified numerous gang members and associates and entered this information into a crime intelligence database. Gang Unit personnel also conducted several presentations to area school and community groups. These presentations are often done in conjunction with the ECPO's Community Justice Unit.

In 2008, as part of the Governor’s Crime Strategy Plan, the Gang Intelligence Unit was merged with the Narcotics Task Force to become the V.I.P.E.R. Unit (Violence Interdiction/Intelligence Prosecution Eradication Recidivism Unit). The new unit, consisting of 18 detectives, three supervisors and operating a daytime and evening shift, will target and prioritize the most violent offender zones; will gather intelligence of confiscated firearms and enter ballistics into the National Integrated Ballistics Identification Network (NIBIN System); will coordinate intelligence led policing strategies in cease fire grid areas with Newark and Irvington law enforcement officials; will conduct warrant roundups of wanted targets of gang violence, narcotics and firearm offenses in high crime ridden areas. In addition, the V.I.P.E.R. Unit will coordinate daily with the Newark and East Orange Police Intelligence Units, the Essex County Corrections Department, neighboring outside police departments, and County Prosecutors’ violent drug and gang task forces.