View source for Department of Justice Criminal Division

{{Short description|The federal government's main anti-crime arm}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name       = United States Department of Justice<br />Criminal Division
| type            = Division
| abbreviation      = 
| logo              = 
| logo_width        = 140px
| logo_caption      = 
| seal            = File:Seal_of_the_United_States_Department_of_Justice.svg
| seal_width      = 160px
| seal_caption    = Seal of the United States Department of Justice
| formed            = {{Start date|1919}}
| preceding1        =
| jurisdiction      = [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]] agency
| headquarters = [[Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building]]<br>950 [[Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Pennsylvania Avenue]] [[Northwest, Washington, D.C.|NW]]<br>[[Washington, D.C.]], United States
| latd              =
| longd             =
| region_code       =
| employees         = 
| budget            = 
| parent_department = [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]]
| chief1_name       = [[Nicole Argentieri]] 
| chief1_position   = Acting Assistant Attorney General
| chief2_name       = TBD
| chief2_position   = Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General
| website           = {{URL|https://www.justice.gov/criminal|Official website}}
}}
The '''United States Department of Justice Criminal Division''' is a [[federal agencies of the United States|federal agency]] of the [[United States Department of Justice]] that develops, enforces, and supervises the application of all [[Federal crime in the United States|federal criminal laws in the United States]]. Criminal Division attorneys prosecute many nationally significant cases and formulate and implement criminal enforcement policy. Division attorneys also provide advice and guidance to the [[Attorney General of the United States]], the [[United States Congress]], and the [[White House]] on matters of [[Criminal law of the United States|criminal law]]. The Division was founded in 1919.<ref name="history">{{cite web |title=History - Criminal Division |url=https://www.justice.gov/criminal/history |website=www.justice.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice |access-date=21 September 2019 |language=en |date=25 July 2019}}</ref>

==Leadership==
The Criminal Division is headed by an [[United States Assistant Attorney General|Assistant Attorney General]], appointed by the [[President of the United States]] with the [[advice and consent]] of the [[United States Senate|Senate]].<ref>{{usc|28|506}}</ref>  [[Kenneth Polite]] was appointed by President [[Joe Biden]] and sworn in as Assistant Attorney General on July 21, 2021. Nicholas McQuaid was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General on January 20, 2021, and served as Acting Assistant Attorney General until Polite's confirmation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Latham's Nicholas McQuaid Picked for Leading Role in Biden DOJ's Criminal Division |url=https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2021/01/21/lathams-nicholas-mcquaid-picked-for-leading-role-in-biden-dojs-criminal-division/ |website=National Law Journal |access-date=20 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Polite's tenure ended on July 28, 2023 after it was announced he would step down to enter the private sector. <ref> {{cite web |title=Top official in Justice Department’s criminal division to depart |url=https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-top-official-leaving-2c4bca44d169a785bce765c97b0e5597 |website = Associated Press |language=en |date= 17 July 2023}}</ref>

==Organization==
The Criminal Division is headed by an Assistant Attorney General, who is a political appointee. The Assistant Attorney General is assisted by six Deputy Assistant Attorneys General, who are career attorneys, who each oversee two or more of the Criminal Division's 16 sections.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Loretta Lynch |author-link1=Loretta Lynch |title=Organizational Chart {{!}} CRIMINAL Division {{!}} Department of Justice |url=https://www.justice.gov/criminal/sectionsoffices/chart |website=www.justice.gov |access-date=21 September 2019 |date=29 August 2016}}</ref>

* Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General
* Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General
 Office of Administration
 Office of Policy and Legislation
* Deputy Assistant Attorney General
[[File:US-dept-of-justice-criminal-division-org-chart.jpg|thumb|Criminal Division organizational chart signed by AG Loretta Lynch (August 2016)]]
 [[Public Integrity Section]] created after [[Watergate]] in 1976<ref name="anniv">{{cite web |title=Remarks by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski at the Criminal Division's 100th Anniversary Celebration |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/remarks-assistant-attorney-general-brian-benczkowski-criminal-divisions-100th-anniversary |website=www.justice.gov |access-date=21 September 2019 |language=en |date=19 July 2019}}</ref>
 Office of Enforcement Operations
* Deputy Assistant Attorney General
 Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-03-25 |title=Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) |url=https://www.justice.gov/criminal-mlars |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}}</ref>
 Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section
* Deputy Assistant Attorney General
 Office of International Affairs
 International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program formed in 1990<ref name="anniv" />
 Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training 
* Deputy Assistant Attorney General
 Fraud Section established in 1955<ref name="anniv" />
 Appellate Section
* Deputy Assistant Attorney General
 [[Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section]] formed in 1996<ref name="anniv" />
 Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Created in 1987,<ref name="anniv" /> the section comprises approximately 15 attorneys who prosecute defendants who have violated federal child exploitation and obscenity laws and also assist the 93 United States Attorney Offices in investigations, trials, and appeals related to these offenses. The section also has a number of Computer Forensic Specialist (CFS) within the High Technology Investigative Unit (HTIU) and, under the direction of a section manager, they conduct analysis of Internet technologies used to distribute obscene materials and child pornography.
* Deputy Assistant Attorney General
 Capital Case Section
 Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section
 Organized Crime and Gang Section


The Division does not supervise the 94 [[U.S. Attorney]]'s Offices.<ref name="anniv" />

===Reorganization===
The Criminal Division's Counterterrorism and Counterespionage Sections were transferred to the newly created [[United States Department of Justice National Security Division]] in 2006.<ref name="history" />

== See also ==
* [[National Child Victim Identification Program]]
* [[Obscenity Prosecution Task Force]]
* [[Operation Protect Our Children]]

{{Portal bar|United States|Politics|Law}}

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|https://www.justice.gov/criminal}}
* Detailed description of [https://www.justice.gov/criminal/approvals-consultations-and-notifications each of the 16 sections] (17 September 2019)

{{DOJ agencies|state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Department Of Justice Criminal Division}}
[[Category:United States Department of Justice agencies|Criminal Division]]
[[Category:United States assistant attorneys general for the Criminal Division| ]]


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