The Intake Bureau has the responsibility of reviewing and accepting criminal charges, accepting evidence in DWI cases and presenting charges to sitting grand juries for indictment. The Bureau includes the Intake Division and the Grand Jury Division. The Intake Division is further broken down into Police Intake, Community Service, Hearing Court and the DWI Video Evidence Room.

The Intake Division is staffed with experienced prosecutors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to review and file most felony and misdemeanor criminal charges and give legal assistance to law enforcement officers in issuing arrest warrants, search warrants, and other matters involving criminal law or procedure. The Intake Division was established to comply with Texas law that states that only a Magistrate or an Assistant District Attorney can accept a criminal complaint. It is also the purpose of the Intake Division to insure that each criminal charge is supported by sufficient evidence to establish probable cause. Hearing Court prosecutors represent the State of Texas in the preliminary bail hearings held by the Criminal Law Hearing Officers. The DWI Video Evidence Room operates as a central repository for all Harris County law enforcement agencies to submit all video evidence in intoxication offenses. Video custodians then disseminate the evidence to the trial court prosecutors as well as the defense attorneys of records to ensure compliance with criminal case discovery law. The Division is supervised by the Intake Division Chief.

The Grand Jury Division is staffed with felony prosecutors who review the facts and evidence of most felony criminal charges filed in Harris County to ensure there is sufficient probable cause to support an indictment. In order to assist the trial court prosecutors, they present the facts of hundreds of cases each week to grand juries selected by the sitting Harris County District Court judges. The Grand Jury Division also assists law enforcement officers with the processing of requests for Grand Jury subpoenas to assist in the collection of evidence for pending criminal investigations. The Division is supervised by the Grand Jury Division Chief who, in addition to supervising the assigned prosecutors, presents unfilled homicide investigations, most with claims and supporting evidence of self-defense, for the Grand Jury to determine whether to file formal charges or to decline indictment.

713-274-0220