Pubdate: Mon, 14 Feb 2005
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Copyright: 2005 Lexington Herald-Leader
Contact:  http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240
Author: Greg Stumbo
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

GROWING CASELOADS, LOW PAY STRAIN PROSECUTORS' OFFICES

Kentucky prosecutors are talented men and women who are dedicated to
their profession and who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe.
However, they are facing a crisis of resources that is threatening
their ability to safeguard the public.

To fully assess prosecutorial needs, a bipartisan commission sent out
surveys to all elected county and commonwealth's attorneys. We are
still compiling their responses, but one thing has become clear: A
major problem is that they lack the resources to handle the explosion
of criminal cases that has occurred in the last few years.

As a whole, prosecutors are handling 10,000 more criminal cases in
circuit court than they did in 1996. Much of this increase is due to
an exponential increase in drug crimes, particularly methamphetamine
cases.

Methamphetamine labs in Kentucky have been found everywhere from the
trunks of cars to underground caves. Indictments for meth
manufacturing and trafficking have increased by a staggering 452. In
some criminal circuits, methamphetamine cases represent 15 percent to
30 percent of the criminal caseload.

This caseload increase has added to the burden of overtaxed county and
commonwealth's attorneys. Most prosecutors are handling cases in
numbers that are well above recommended levels.

Even this vast increase in caseloads does not accurately reflect all
of a prosecutor's job duties. For example, every case that goes before
a grand jury, whether there is an indictment or not, requires a
prosecutor to present that case. This is a time-consuming and
painstaking process. However, this effort may not be reflected in
statistics that count only cases involving returned
indictments.

County and commonwealth's attorneys have additional responsibilities
in the protection of our children. With respect to child sexual abuse
cases, prosecutors work with other professionals on child sex abuse
multidisciplinary teams. These teams work together so that every
effort is made to minimize the trauma experienced by child victims.

Prosecutors also have had to adapt to the state's changing
demographics to effectively promote criminal justice.

For example, as the population ages, prosecutors are devoting more and
more time to protecting the elderly. Many seniors have been victims of
physical abuse or financial scams that strip them of their savings.
Some commonwealth's attorneys, such as Dave Stengel in Jefferson
County, have developed elder-abuse units to combat these crimes.

Another example is Kentucky's growing Hispanic population, now
estimated at 70,000. To adapt to this, Fayette County Commonwealth's
Attorney Ray Larson has instituted a weekly radio show on a local
Spanish-language station to bring much-needed criminal justice
information to the Spanish-speaking population of Central Kentucky.

Prosecution is also becoming more dangerous. State prosecutors are
threatened hundreds of times a year across the United States. In 2001,
81 percent of prosecutors serving communities of 250,000 or more
reported a threat on a staff member or a work-related assault.

In Kentucky, we are all too aware of how dangerous the prosecutions
profession can be. Kentucky prosecutors have been the subject of
contracts on their lives that law enforcement personnel were
fortunately able to thwart. Unfortunately, Commonwealth's Attorney
Fred Capps was gunned down in his home in June 2000 by a man whom he
was to prosecute for child sexual abuse later that day.

Although the profession is becoming more and more dangerous, there are
many public servants who are willing to face the risks but are driven
from the profession because of the low starting salaries and lack of
pay advancement for career prosecutors.

A recent article in the American Bar Association Journal highlighted
the problem in a study of Florida prosecutors. It found that Florida
prosecutors have a turnover rate of 20 percent and that just 54
percent of new prosecutors last three years.

Our surveys have indicated that the same problems exist in Kentucky.
Many of the surveys have reported not only a problem recruiting talent
because of low starting salaries, but a problem retaining prosecutors
because of financial obligations, such as mortgages and student loan
payments.

As the General Assembly examines ways to solve the state's fiscal
crisis, legislators should take a hard look at increasing the funding
levels for state prosecutors. Government's most important function is
the protection of the public safety. Without safe communities, we
cannot progress in other important areas.

County and commonwealth's attorneys work tirelessly to maintain the
safety of our communities and our state. Their work is too difficult
and too important to suffer from a lack of financial support.
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MAP posted-by: Derek