Within weeks of an indictable criminal complaint being signed in any one of Passaic County’s 16 municipalities, the complaint is forwarded to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Pre-Indictment Unit (PIP) for review and screening. Attorneys in the unit, along with the complainant and, in some cases, additional witnesses, appear before a Superior Court judge for a PIP hearing. At this hearing, the assistant prosecutor recommends one of the following dispositions on the complaint (s) to the court:

• Dismissal
• Downgrade and remand back to the municipal court
• Referral to Grand Jury
• Guilty plea
• Pre-trial Intervention (a program for first time offenders charged with less serious offenses. If accepted into the Program, the defendant is placed on probation, and, if successful in completing probation, the charges are dismissed)

Screening decisions are made based in the seriousness of the offense, the defendant’s criminal record and the input of the complainant. At the time of the PIP hearing, the attorneys are in possession of the police reports, the defendant’s criminal history and any witnesses’ statements. This information is forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office by the local police departments and compiled by the investigators who staff the PIP Unit.

The unit screens approximately 130 cases per week.

The Passaic County Drug Court, which has been operational for approximately 4 ½ years, is also handled through the Pre-Indictment Processing Program. The drug court is aimed at individuals who are charged with the distribution of narcotics or possession of narcotics with intent to distribute within 1000 feet of a school. Individuals who are accepted into the Passaic County Drug Court Program are sentenced to long periods of probation with the understanding that they must successfully complete an inpatient narcotics addition program chosen by the Probation Department. Failure to do so will result in being returned to the PIP court for sentencing, which will most likely result in incarceration.