Bureau of Investigation

The Bureau of Investigation is the law enforcement component of the District Attorney's Office. The Bureau's 110 District Attorney Investigators (DAIs), 48 Public Assistance Fraud Investigators (PAFIs), 14 process servers, 10 paralegals, and nine investigative technicians are assigned to eight divisions in the DA's Office. With the retirements of the Chief and Assistant Chief Investigators, the Bureau of Investigations welcomed a new Bureau leadership team in 2013. Chief Adolfo Gonzales and Assistant Chief Miguel Rosario bring to the bureau extensive law enforcement and management experience. Chief Gonzales has more than 34 years of experience, including the last eight years as National City's Chief of Police. Assistant Chief Rosario spent 34 years with the San Diego Police Department, rising to the rank of Captain. His last assignment was the Commanding Officer of the Southern Division. Under Chief Gonzales and Assistant Chief Rosario, the Bureau of Investigation continued to be aggressive in efforts to support the prosecutorial mission.

In 2013, Bureau personnel handled more than 12,000 investigative service requests. Those requests resulted in, among other things, the execution of 303 search warrants and the arrests of 90 defendants. Additional results include:

The Bureau's Child Abduction Unit (CAU) conducted 140 investigations involving child custody violations and was successful in recovering 67 abducted children from around the country. In addition, the CAU was involved in 17 Hague cases involving children being abducted from or taken to other countries including, Mexico, Canada and Germany. In 2013, the CAU Visitation Reporting System, which is accessible via the DA's website, handled 2,899 violations reported on this site to date. The CAU staff also directly handled more than 867 public contacts in 2013, a 34% increase from 2012.

In 2013, Bureau staff investigated 16 officer-involved shootings. This was down from 19 in 2012. In addition, one fulltime investigator was assigned to the newly formed Crimes against Police Offices (CAPO) Unit.

AWARDS

Awards to the Bureau and its investigators include:

 

Public Assistance Fraud

The Bureau's Public Assistance Fraud (PAF) Division handled more than 26,000 cases in the Early Fraud Prevention Program. This resulted in an annual savings of nearly $5 million with a projected savings of $84.5 million since 2001. The full field units, which include investigative support for child care and the in-home supportive services program (IHSS), closed 732 investigations and identified overpayments totaling $1.8 million. Of those, 136 were referred for administrative collections and 114 were referred for prosecution. The division's paralegals responded to 6,977 Child Protective Services requests for criminal history checks prior to placement. They also reviewed and closed 4,724 requests in response to the Fleeing Felon program and the nationwide prisoner and deceased person matches. PAF staff also responded to 2,195 'Hotline' referrals from citizens.

Bureau Paralegals

The Bureau's Paralegal Program, which started three years ago, continues to be an asset to the overall function of the Bureau. Some of the tasks the paralegals in this program assist with include:

Subpoena Witness Coordination Center

In 2013, the Subpoena Witness Coordination Center continued to play a major part in the Bureau of Investigation's success through providing vital support to investigators. It was created four years ago in an effort to more efficiently manage Process Server resources. The model has worked so well that the traditional role of the process server has expanded beyond just serving subpoenas. Now they pick up non-original evidence and transport witnesses to court when appropriate. Previously, these functions were performed almost exclusively by investigators. Process Servers have also been cross trained with couriers ensuring continued operations should a courier be out on extended leave.

Community Partnerships

In 2013, the Bureau of Investigation's made a concerted effort to expand our community partnerships. For the first time, the bureau partnered with Low Rider car clubs, local businesses and school districts to adopt six families from throughout the county during Thanksgiving and Christmas. At Thanksgiving, the families were provided complete Thanksgiving dinners. For Christmas, the families were provided toys and gift cards for the kids. Additional community partnerships include:

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