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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0074.001 1998-2000 0 CAREER CRIMINAL We have been attempting to maintain our aggressive prosecution of career criminals in Hawaii County even in light of State budget cuts. We have not filled a supervisor's position in order to deal with the state budget cuts. This means that other existing supervisors have had to fill the gap by taking on more responsibilities. Our goal is to arrest, charge and incarcerate career criminals as quickly as possible. And once they are incarcerated, our goal is to keep them in jail pretrial and after sentencing. The office handles all appellate matters as well as Rule 40 petitions. The specific categories of "career criminals" are listed in Chapter 845 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, as amended. Although the statute lists only three mandatory categories of defendants which demand CCP attention, our county prosecutes defendants in all eleven categories. These are normally felony offenders, but CCP prosecution also extends to misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor offenders. The reason the State Legislature enacted the career criminal statute is because it found that a SUBSTANTIAL AND DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF SERIOUS CRIME WAS BEING COMMITTED AGAINST THE PEOPLE BY A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF MUL 111'LE AND REPEAT FELONY OFFENDERS. In order to meet our goals, a deputy is accessible for charging consultations with the police by beeper 24 hours a day. We maintain personal contact with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Hawaii County Police Department through an expedited conferral process, but quite often the deputies are at the station daily. We work jointly with the police to get the career criminal cases into our system quickly. We also handle a number of conflict cases from the First Circuit and Maui for CCP defendants. RECEIVED rime-- -- ..... - -- By We do the following to achieve our goals: �atE+ '-9 "• Count Council /P- Assign experienced attorneys to the CCP cases; Early tracking of high risk juveniles who most likely will be considered CCP defendants as adults; An increased number of arrested and charged cases involving CCP defendants; Requests for high bail or commitment without bail; Immediate filings of revocations of bail and revocations of supervised release; Filing of motions for enhanced sentencings such as mandatory minimum terms, consecutive terms of imprisonment, and extended terms of 71. Oi imprisonment. Cumin. 1\o. File No. Pito Ref, To: 14eseeted F� , uof intro FEB 2 1999 0 0 The following are examples of cases CCP handled in the past year: State v.Dunse: Trial and conviction of murder in Third Circuit Court; pending appeal. State v. Damien Serano: Outstanding bench warrant for murder. State v. DeReis: Awaiting trial for the double murders of Ernest Martinez, Sr. and Ernest Martinez, Jr. in Puna. State v. Wilmer: Awaiting trial for the murder of Mr. Granger. State v. Pauline: Awaiting trial for the murder of Dana h-eland. State v. Nunez: Waiting for results of mental exam. State v. Taylor: Pizza Hut robbery; Onomea Robbery; Escape. State v. Kahakai: Sex Assault trial of underage victim /Convictions /Waiting appeal. State v. Gomes: Theft, 2nd conviction. We give special attention to those persons classified as career criminals. Our office is particularly concerned about the increase in the use of firearms in the commission of crime, as well as the increase in robberies by persons having career criminal designations. The reason that we successfully prosecuted these cases is the special attention given to the defendants by the CCP Unit. We were able to take and maintain a "bulldog" approach to these repeat offenders. Our communities need to feel safe from these criminals, and the only way to do that is to devote a special unit to prosecute them aggressively and expeditiously. We have done that, and we pledge to continue our efforts with your help. Recordkeeping All CCP cases are labelled approximately in our computerized tracking system. Computer printouts are printed monthly. Each case is manually logged onto a statistic form. These statistics are used to provide reports to the Department of the Attorney General. � . j4 0 VICTIM /WITNESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM The State established victim - witness assistance programs in the Department of the Attorney General to be implemented by the County prosecutors under HRS 28 -111 to provide information, assistance, and support services to the victims of and witnesses to crimes committed in the state." HRS 801D, more commonly known as the Victims' Bill of Rights, recognized the civil and moral duty of victims and witnesses to cooperate with law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies, and the importance of such cooperation for the general effectiveness and well being of the criminal justice system of this State. HRS 801D also declared the intent to ensure that all victims and witnesses of crimes are treated with dignity, respect, courtesy and sensitivity, and that the rights are honored and protected in a manner no less vigorous than the protections afforded criminal defendants. Hawaii County's Office of the Prosecuting Attorney has shown commitment to victims of this community with continuous support of its Victim /Witness Assistance Program. The program originated in 1976 as the Justice for Victims Program with one advocate who handled 47 felony cases in the first six months of operation. During the last six months of 1997, the current staff of twelve (seven advocates, three and a half clerical and one coordinator) provided services to three thousand nine hundred twenty (3,920) victims, witnesses and their significant others. The Program's staff are devoted to minimizing the oftentimes adverse impact of the criminal justice system. The services include (but are not limited to): - Notification of case and offender status - Court procedure orientation - Court accompaniment to provide support - Assistance with criminal injuries compensation - Property return - Assistance with victim input for sentencing, plea agreements and Parole Board minimum term hearings - Transportation - Emergency services (food, clothing, shelter, costs for temporary restraining orders) - Intercession with employers and creditors - Referrals to community agencies -Short term and crisis counseling - Travel and hotel arrangements for returning witnesses - Witness coordination to minimize time spent waiting at court - Arrangement of secure waiting areas for witnesses away from defendants - Support during interviews of victims of child abuse, 0 0 domestic violence, sexual assault and other sensitive cases - Presentations to community organizations and training to other agencies - Support to victims, witnesses and deputy prosecuting attorneys at trials, hearings and grand jury - Monitor the computer generated victim notification system, which printed 4277 letters in 1997. Although crime victims of Hawaii County are the direct beneficiaries of the Victim Assistance Program, the majority of the Program's staff are funded by the state. Federal grants and county funds also finance positions for the program. During the period July 1 - December 31, 1997, the program provided services to: 3,039 victims 66 secondary victims 445 witnesses 370 others Number of victims receiving services included: 840 - outreach 911 - counseling 2,023 - education and information 250 - court accompaniment - .n. 1,013 - case preparation 16 - transportation 864 - information /assistance with criminal injuries compensation 955 - referrals to other agencies 3,039 - advocacy If State funding were to be reduced or eliminated, the overall impact to crime victims in this county would be drastic and traumatic unless other sources of funding cover the shortage. The Victim Assistance Program strives to support and respond to the needs of victims and witnesses of this island. We hope the County will continue to demonstrate its concern for victims and its commitment to a safe community with ongoing support of our Program.