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Regional Departments of Criminal Investigation and Prosecution

The Regional DCIPs are headquartered in each of the four regional deputy prosecutors general's offices (Coimbra, Évora, Lisboa and Porto).

It is responsible for directing the investigation and prosecuting violent, economic-financial, highly organized or particularly complex criminal cases when criminal activity occurs in regions of the territorial area of the respective regional deputy prosecutors general's offices. They are also responsible, prior to the order of the Regional Deputy Prosecutor General, for directing the investigation on crimes of manifest seriousness, complexity or territorial dispersion of criminal activity (articles 70(1) and 71 of the Statute of the Public Prosecution Service/SPPS).

Regional DCIPs are led by a deputy prosecutors general and state prosecutors are also assigned to the Regional DCIPs. The director of the regional DCIP may at the same time perform the executive duties of the DCIP of the county district in which he is based, on an aggregate basis (article 70(2)(3) of the SPPS).

Regional DCIPs may be divided into deconcentrated units and organized into sections of generic or specialized competence. Research teams and mission units may also be set up to articulate specific segments of the department's activity (article 70(4)(5) of the SPPS).