Dan F

Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is the largest local prosecutorial office in the United States, serving the most populous county in the country. Nearly 1,000 attorneys, known as deputy district attorneys (DDA's) represent the people of the State of California, and prosecute serious crimes called felonies throughout Los Angeles. They also prosecute less serious crimes known as misdemeanors in unincorporated areas and in 78 of the county's 88 cities. Ten cities, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Monica and Pasadena, have city prosecutors who handle misdemeanor crimes and municipal code violations that occur within their jurisdictions. LADA maintains a staff of nearly 300 sworn peace officers, known as DA investigators, who conduct some of the most unique, sensitive and complex criminal investigations in law enforcement. DA investigators function primarily to provide prosecution support to DDAs. They locate and process witnesses and conduct supplemental pretrial investigations to help strengthen the prosecution's case. In some cases, such as those involving public corruption, they conduct their own independent investigations. The Bureau of Investigation is the county's 4th largest law enforcement agency. Its staff also assists other law enforcement agencies with vehicular and electronic surveillance, undercover operations and photographic services. More than 800 clerical and support staff round out the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. They include victim services representatives, who support survivors and victims' families, connecting them with resources and providing trauma-informed care. A constitutionally elected district attorney leads the office. George Gascón is the 43rd District Attorney for Los Angeles County.