The Career Criminal Prosecution Unit focuses on criminal defendants who commit robbery and residential burglary. Since its inception in 1977, the goal of the unit has been to seek maximum sentences consistent with justice for multiple and repeat offenders pursuant to Penal Code Sections 999b-h. By passage of these statutes, the California State Legislature recognized the substantial and disproportionate amount of crime perpetrated by repeat offenders commonly known as career criminals.

The success of the Career Criminal Prosecution Unit is due to caseload reduction, vertical prosecution and restrictions on plea bargaining. Since the passage of the Three Strikes Law in 1994, the Career Criminal Prosecution Unit has been even more successful in reaching its goals because of the longer sentences provided by the law.