Criminal Division
The County Attorney is responsible for prosecuting all criminal violations of state law that occur within the county. As the most populous county in the state, well over ten thousand such cases are filed in the Polk County District Court each year. These cases are prosecuted by the Criminal Division of the Polk County Attorney's Office.
The Criminal Division is divided into the following four bureaus.
General Trial Bureau
Bureau Chief: Justin G. Allen
The General Trial Bureau prosecutes a wide variety of felonies, including homicide, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, assault, theft, fraud, and criminal mischief.
Major Offense Bureau
Bureau Chief: Nan Horvat
The Major Offense Bureau prosecutes, in addition to the crimes outlined above, sexual assault crimes and crimes against children.
Drug and Gang Bureau
Bureau Chief: Dan Voogt
The Drug and Gang Bureau prosecutes all cases relating to drug possession, manufacture, or delivery, as well as cases involving gang activity and associated violent crime.
There are seven Assistant County Attorneys assigned to the Drug and Gang Bureau.
Intake and Screening Bureau
Bureau Chief: Bret J. Lucas
The Intake and Screening Bureau prosecutes the high-volume dockets, including the indictable misdemeanor docket, the operating while intoxicated docket, the driving while barred/revoked docket, and the simple misdemeanor docket, and the domestic abuse docket.
There are twelve Assistant County Attorneys assigned to the Intake and Screening Bureau.