Professional dynamics and institutional development of prosecution agencies: The Chilean case

• In Event: Prosecution in the Making III: Prosecutors as Court Actors

Abstract

Over recent decades, most Latin American countries have reformed their criminal justice systems from inquisitorial to adversarial models, centralizing the role of public prosecution offices in renewed penal structures. Despite extensive analysis of legal and policy dimensions, criminological research on internal professional dynamics within these offices remains scarce.
This study explores professional interactions and organizational structures within the Chilean National Prosecution Office (CPO). Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with prosecutors, analysts, and data specialists, it examines how interprofessional relationships affect the agency's daily operations and institutional development. Key findings highlight: (i) how collaboration and competition among professionals with diverse backgrounds impact prosecutorial effectiveness, and (ii) how internal struggles for resources and legitimacy shape organizational priorities and prosecution strategies. Conceptualizing the CPO as a bureaucracy shaped by both formal arrangements and informal interactions, this research underscores the significance of organizational and professional dynamics for prosecutorial decision-making and criminal justice outcomes, contributing valuable insights to criminological scholarship on prosecution offices in Latin America.

Author

• Diego Rochow, University of California, Irvine / Universidad Adolfo Ibanez