Essex County Prosecutor's Office

Essex County Prosecutor's Office

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office (ECPO) is the largest and busiest county prosecutor’s office in the State of New Jersey. It consists of approximately 140 assistant prosecutors (attorneys at law), 160 detectives licensed to carry arms, and 125 support staff.

ECPO presently processes between 16,000 and 20,000 adult defendants charged with criminal acts per year. In addition, between 3,500 and 5,000 juveniles are processed each year through delinquency proceedings. Most of these defendants are arrested and charged by local or county-level law enforcement agencies, but ECPO also originates charges against defendants through its own investigatory units, and via direct indictment by the Essex County Grand Jury (i.e., charges issued directly by the grand jury and not prior to grand jury review). Between 5,000 and 6,000 adult defendants are indicted in Essex County each year. Essex County currently accounts for about 18% of all criminal (felony) cases referred to county prosecutors' offices in New Jersey. Approximately 35% of the state’s homicides and 14% of sexual assaults occur in Essex.