Ocean County Prosecutor's Office

On February 15, 1850, the County of Ocean was established by an Act of Legislature to break away from southern Monmouth County. Simultaneously, the first Prosecutor was appointed and establishing the Office of the County Prosecutor, the chief law enforcement agency of the County. The Ocean County Prosecutor is vested within the boundaries of the county with the same powers as the Attorney General within the state. The function of the County Prosecutor is to “use all reasonable and lawful diligence for the detection, arrest, indictment, and conviction of offenders against he laws.” [NJSA 2A:158-5] The County Prosecutor is appointed to a five-year term by the Governor. Upon the foundation of Ocean County, there were no resident lawyers to choose for the position of Prosecutor. Governor Daniel Haines chose a Monmouth County resident, Jehu Patterson of Middletown, to serve as the counties first Prosecutor. Since its inception, the Ocean County Prosecutors Office has grown from one part-time employee to 170 full-time employees. From the beginning, the Prosecutors Office strives to heed to the principles of justice, fairness, prompt and courteous attention to the needs of the public, cooperate with all 33 municipal police departments and reduce crime across the county. These principles remained the same throughout the years, even with a significant shift in specific criminal activity such as narcotics and environmental related crimes.