Criminal Division
Mission: The City Attorney's Office strives to promote Seattle communities that are safe, healthy, empowered, and thriving.
Vision: Seattle City Attorney's Office is committed to making Seattle a safe, healthy, empowered and thriving community for everyone. We strive to address historical injustices within the court system with self-examination and to pursue justice in Seattle with integrity, creativity, and fairness. We believe working transparently, innovatively, and in collaboration with our partners in the community is necessary to achieve outcomes that promote equity, accountability, and healing.
Values: Transparency, Accountability, Truth Seeking, Fairness, Humility, Integrity
*The Seattle City Attorney's Office Criminal Division's values, mission, and vision were developed by a committee of criminal division employees.
The work of the Criminal Division staff extends beyond the traditional role of prosecuting people who commit misdemeanor crimes. The work encompasses a broad range of activities designed to reduce or prevent crime, solve problems, and empower neighborhoods.
The Criminal Division works to:
- Ensure respect for and compliance with criminal municipal ordinances by holding offenders accountable through fair and effective prosecution and enforcement.
- Advocate on behalf of crime victims to ensure the preservation of their rights to personal safety, restitution, and participation in the criminal justice process.
- Prevent crime and improve the quality of life in Seattle's neighborhoods by working proactively with residents, business owners, police, and other agencies to identify and resolve community problems.
- Educate and advise the public and city departments on criminal justice issues and trends, and develop policies relating to the management of the criminal justice system including jail administration, sentencing guidelines, diversion programs, and municipal court procedures.
To accomplish this work, division attorneys and staff are divided into:
- The Domestic Violence Unit prosecutes and negotiates domestic violence and child abuse matters with the assistance of victim advocates;
- Review and Filing Unit prosecutors make all filing decisions within the office;
- The Trial Team Unit handles all non-domestic violence negotiations, trials, motions, review and restitution hearing;
- Specialty Court Unit prosecutors represent the City in the Mental Health Court, Veterans Treatment Court, and administer the Young Adult Pre-Filing Diversion Program in partnership with Choose 180.
- The Prosecution Support Team assists prosecutors during all stages of prosecution by managing discovery and assisting with trial preparation and victim/witness contact; and
- The Case Preparation Unit prepares files along with pleadings and provides prosecutors with information for various court hearings.
The Criminal Division helps people who are crime victims or witnesses through the criminal justice process. Prosecutor support staff (including paralegals, assistant paralegals and Criminal Division paralegal interns and volunteers) perform victim and witness contact about the incident. In the matter of a crime involving domestic violence, a victim's advocate is assigned for the victim and they communicate with the victim.
Anyone contacting a victim or witness is obligated to clearly identify which agency he or she represents.