The Gun Violence and Career Criminal Unit was created to address the following concerns:

• the growing rise in violent crimes;
• an increase in gun possession and carrying;
• repetitive criminal behavior of violent offenders;
• community policing aimed at developing services, programs and alternatives to advert criminal activity.

It is staffed by three Assistant Prosecutors, two Investigators and one Secretary. The following is the divisional structure of this unit:

CAREER CRIMINAL: The goal of this sub-unit is to identify, focus on and thoroughly prosecute repeat violent offenders. These cases are vertically prosecuted through the criminal justice system; i.e. the unit handles career criminal cases from investigation to trial or plea. The cases are screened and selected by this unit, as guided by established criteria. Defendants prosecuted under this program face stiff penalties including extended periods of incarceration.

GREATER NEWARK SAFE CITIES INITIATIVE (GNSCI): This is a collaboration of various law enforcement agencies (Essex County Prosecutor, State Attorney General, United States Attorney and Local Police Departments), community and social service entities, and the faith-based community. The Rutgers University-School of Criminal Justice, under the direction of Professor George Kelling, is the impartial arbiter of this collective. Prof. Kelling's staff identifies probationers and parolees, after a review of their criminal histories, as individuals more than likely to kill or be killed. To prevent repeat offenses, the defendants are placed in a program that provides intense supervision offering access to rehabilitative services. Opportunity and access is offered for education, employment, faith-based support, drug and alcohol treatment, and other social support. This represents a "carrot and stick" approach. If they do not avail themselves of these services, re-incarceration is a very real consequence. These defendants are monitored judicially by the Assignment Judge of Essex County. The Essex County Prosecutor's Office supports this initiative through community outreach, weekly meetings with the collective, court appearances on violations of probation/parole hearings, and monitoring of new arrests.

GUN STRATEGY PROGRAM: This program is a partnership between the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and GNSCI, to address the increase in gun violence and possession in Essex County. Defendants are identified for this program based upon established criteria. Once identified, an effort is made to set an appropriate bail to ensure the defendant's return to court.

The processing of cases under this program are as follows:

• The complaints are initially screened by the Newark Police Department.
• Our prosecutors are on beeper duty to set bail on weeknights and weekends for identified gun arrests.
• Our staff review and screen cases in Central Judicial Processing to verify that the case is a gun case meeting the established criteria.
• During working hours, staff appear before the Honorable Joseph A. Falcone, the Assignment Judge of Essex County, for arraignment on the complaint and setting of bail.
• After arraignment, the unit maintains a copy of the complaint and police reports for case monitoring.
• These cases are not handled vertically. The cases will be handled by the Consolidated Pre-Grand Jury Unit and Grand Jury Unit.
• After indictment, the cases are put on a trial list before Judge Falcone; the Gun Violence and Career Criminal Unit will prosecute the case from post-indictment until plea or trial.