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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0177.066 1998-2000OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY 1999 - 2000 FISCAL YEAR Merva r<Gn� t4 C ) f neq C+wnty Qovno The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for the County of Hawaii has submitted a budget which reflects the current fiscal condition of the County to the extent that faithful execution and enforcement of the law can continue. The Office has been continually faced with fiscal constraints while the population and demand for prosecution services has continued to rise. As referrals and caseloads have increased, County operating expenditures have declined for the last four budget cycles as illustrated in the table below. FY 1995 -1998 25000 $1000000 22500 20000 17500 15000 12500 10000 7500 5000 2500 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 $900000 $800000 $700000 $600000 $500000 Criminal Referrals (Y1) 0 Operating Expenditures (Y2) The Office has streamlined operations, delayed facilities maintenance and limited equipment purchases. In addition, the number of staff positions has not expanded to keep pace with increased workloads. Our dedicated personnel work tirelessly to cope with staff shortages while working with outdated equipment. In an effort to proactively address the fiscal limitations of the County budget, the Office has identified special areas of concern and has secured State and Federal funding to supplement and enhance limited County resources. Among State and Federal funded programs are: Career Criminal (CCP), Aid to Victims (VW), Violence Against Children, Victims of Crime and I.'.l oC6 Violence Against Women. These programs currently account for 30 of the 84 positionCOMM.s ik the a File No., Ref. To: Prowled F C. _ Ref. Date MAR 2 4 Office and for 35% the total Office budget. These sources, however, cannot supplant or be relied upon to fund County operations. The current State Legislature has indicated their intention to cut CCP and VW by at least 5% for the next fiscal year. Other grant programs are generally limited to a period of from 3 - 4 years. In addition, the Office has worked actively with other public and private agencies and community groups to educate the public and improve the criminal justice system. Our Community Prosecutor works very closely with Community Police Officers in educating and empowering communities to unify against crime. These efforts to reduce the fear of crime, to involve victims and hold offenders accountable have begun to show positive results. There are still many challenges to address and the Office is committed to continue efforts toward "Restorative Justice." As you review our budget, please consider as our policy statement the following: That prosecution and public safety are core,_functions of the County of Hawaii; That an effective Prosecutor's Office is part of providing for the safety of our community; That the necessary resources will be provided to those who go face to face with murderers, robbers, rapists and give support to victims of their crimes; and That the laws establishing our community's norms and holding people accountable for their actions will be fairly and effectively enforced. This Office is committed to working with you toward a safer and stronger Big Island. OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY COUNTY OF HAWAII The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney is the legal agency responsible for prosecuting all violations of State and County laws, ordinances, rules and/or regulations on behalf of the Big Island community as provided by Hawaii County Charger Article IX: Chapter 28; H.R.S. 28-1. Offices are located in Hilo, Kealakekua and Waimea to serve Big Island residents. The Office is divided into five units: The Administrative Unit; Attorneys Unit; Victims Assistance Unit; Investigative Unit; and Clerical Support Unit. OBJECTWES FOR FISCAL YEAR 1999-00 • Complete implementation and monitoring of our Year 2000 remediation plan. • Provide a high level of staff training including specialized training in trial practice. • Expand our NT LAN to provide desktop services to the staff. • Implement a county wide automated temporary restraining order (TRO) system to provide real time information on filed and served TRO and protective orders. • Implement a video conferencing link in each police station, Prosecutor's Office and the Children's Advocacy Center island wide. • Develop and adopt a data processing migration plan that integrates police/court, corrections, JJIS and OBTS data, video conferencing and intranet/internet capabilities. • Expand our community prosecution efforts island -wide working in conjunction with the Community Coalition for Neighborhood Safety (CCFNS) and community policing groups. • Improve the level of domestic violence prosecution and integrate and lethality assessment of each stage of prosecution. • Develop a replacement JJIS interface with the State system. • Expand the staff's capability to do specialized automated searches for subject information. • Educate the public on various facets of the Prosecutor's Office and the criminal justice system. • Develop new processes to streamline operations and improve efficiency. • Adopt an enterprise imaging plan. • Sponsor workshops dealing with Domestic Violence and illegal drug use. • Obtain funding for dealing with the continued violence against children, to target prosecution of career criminals and to support victims of crime. • Develop pilot projects in the areas of Restorative Justice, violence prevention and juvenile justice. ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT Administration: The Prosecuting Attorney, First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Business Manager direct the day to day operations of the office with regard to managing the legal fiscal, personnel, equipment and facilities maintenance of the operation and coordinating staff meetings, training and other administrative services. Secretarial Services: This section provides clerical support to Administration and assists in the day to day operations of the office. Fiscal Services: Provides for professional accounting in accordance with standard accounting practices while coordinating the fiscal efforts of the State, County, and Federal programs. These employees provide financial analysis, budgeting, and preparation of financial statements and reports, in addition to day to day operational needs with regard to requirements of the County's Department of Finance. Management Information Services: Coordinates daily operation of Wang mini- computers; a Macintosh LAN; a PC network; and telecommunications linking the Wang computers to the other County agencies as well as the City & County of Honolulu and State of Hawaii. Work includes analysis and evaluation of office operating procedures, work methods and information needs in order to develop data processing systems and related work procedures for the automation processes and the capture storage, retrieval of information and implementation plans. Volunteer Services Coordinator: Recruits, trains and places volunteers to assist within the Office. Also provides volunteer recruitment and training for the 24- hour volunteer hospital urgent response project. The volunteer services coordinator assists in grantwriting for the Office and assists the Community Prosecutor in networking and outreaching in the community. ATTORNEY'S UNIT The Attorney's Unit, divided among East, West and North Hawaii offices, handle all criminal cases that occur in their respective districts. East Hawaii's 17 deputies cover the districts of North and South Hilo and Puna. The six West Hawaii deputies cover the districts of North and South Kona and Ka'u. The one attorney in North Hawaii covers the districts of Hamakua, South Kohala and North Kohala with the exception of felony trials. There exists specialized sub -units within the attorney's unit. ATTORNEY RESPONSIBILITIES Advising Police (HPD)/Law Enforcement Agencies— - Other Government Agencies Victim/ Witnesses General Public - not witness or victim Legislators Crime Prevention Groups Private Law Enforcement Groups (security) Training Intra -Office Personnel Police Department, i.e., police recruits, recall training Other law enforcement agencies, i.e., DLNR Public/Private Agencies, i.e., SASS, CPS, DHS, SANE, Hospitals, Fire Department, DOE Students in mock trials Administrative Hearings Parole Hearings Miscellaneous Public Speaking Committee meetings/membership Networking with other agencies Public education/relations Interagency assistance In addition, Deputy prosecutor's assist the police and the community by carrying pagers for after hour calls regarding potential criminal charging of defendants. Calls from Hawaii County Police Department are received at all hours of the night. Deputy Prosecutors rotate on call duty, all supervisors are required to carry pagers and remain available to the police and other deputy prosecutors for consultation on cases after hours. The number of after hour calls is 11 - 26 per week. The total number of hours that deputy prosecutors are on pager duty is in excess of 700 hours per week. Deputies typically spend time beyond the normal 8 hour day to complete the work needed on their cases. The range of hours expended varies depending on the needs of the case, whether the case is in trial, trial preparation, whether witnesses can be contacted during business hours and the like. Typically the range of hours in excess of the work week for all the deputies is in excess of 120 hours per week and can exceed 200 hours in any given week. CAREER CRIMINAL PROGRAM Historically, the Career Criminal Program was established pursuant to chapter, 845, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and revised October 1980 and October 1985. It's purpose was quick identification, prosecution, and conviction of those persons making a career of crime. The reason the State Legislature enacted the career criminal statute was because it found that a substantial and disproportionate amount of serious crime was being committed against the people by a relatively small number of multiple and repeat felony offenders. The vision was that sentences for these career criminals would meaningfully guarantee the community their right of security and protection. Focus is then on the offender, and not simply the crime. From the onset, the objectives have been incarceration of the criminal at all stages of the criminal justice process; conviction on the most serious charge, whether by plea or trial; expedited processingbf-cases; and maximum incarceration of convicted career criminals. 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. In the early years of the program, the specialized unit functioned via vertical prosecution with two deputies, three clerical and one investigator. In the late 1980's we added four more deputies, two clerical, and one investigator. No increase in personnel have occurred since the acquisition of a legal assistant in 1993. Despite a 20% budget cut from the State in 1996, we have been attempting to maintain our aggressive prosecution of career criminals in Hawaii County. We have not filled a supervisor's position in order to deal with the State budget cuts. This means that other supervisors have had to fill the gap by taking on more responsibilities. Adding to the burden of budget cuts, the Prosecutor's Office received 23 new murder cases in 1995. This is close to a 100% increase since 1993, when we received 12 murder cases. In 1994, 21 murder cases were received. Some of those cases were taken to jury trials and/or disposed of in 1995. In 1999, we still are handling a CCP case from 1991. Our goals have not changed. It is still 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. In order to meet our goals, a CCP deputy is accessible by pager 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 quickly into our system. We also do the following to achieve our goals: Assign experienced attorneys to the CCP cases; Begin early tracking of high risk juveniles who most likely will be considered CCP defendants as adults; Increase the number of arrested and charged cases involving CCP defendants; Request high bail or commitment without bail; Immediately file revocations of bail and revocations of supervised release; File motions for enhanced sentencings such as mandatory minimum terms, consecutive terms of imprisonment, and extended terms of imprisonment. 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 we successfully prosecute these cases is the special attention given to these 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 the continued financial support of the legislature. CIRCUIT COURT The Circuit Court Units of the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney services three courtrooms, one in Kona and two in Hilo. The Kona office has one unit comprised of 4 attorneys and the Hilo unit has 6 attorneys. These units are responsible for the prosecution of all felonies within the County of Hawaii for crimes ranging from the most vicious homicides to theft cases. Felony cases consist of any case where there is the possibility of a State Prison Sentence, while misdemeanor cases can subject the defendant to a period of up to one year in jail. Defendants in misdemeanor cases are entitled to jury trials. When such a request is made the circuit court unit is responsible for the prosecution of misdemeanor jury trials. The unit has continued to actively prosecute these cases. The bulk of the cases result in a plea of guilty or no contest by the defendant but must still be prepared as if the case were to be tried by a jury. The preparation of the case often results in its disposition short of trial. Defendants do not have -to plead guilty to any crime and can insist that this office prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury or to a judge. The Circuit Court Unit is also responsible for a variety of other matters including all appeals from felony convictions, writ practice in both Federal and State Court, evidentiary hearings relating to motions in felony and misdemeanor cases that are set for jury trial, felony sentencing proceedings, probation revocation hearings, parole board hearings, assistance to the Police Department with officer training, review of search warrants, after hour pager duty. DISTRICT COURT The Hawaii County Prosecutor's Office covers seven district courts islandwide. Two and a half deputies in East Hawaii, one in North Hawaii and two in West Hawaii, handle all of the misdemeanor and traffic cases for Hawaii County. District Court deputies spend approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of their time processing traffic violations on calendars as well as in trials. District court deputies handle a total of 37 traffic/ criminal calendars per month islandwide. These calendars do not include the misdemeanor domestic violence cases as those are heard on different days in East Hawaii. The traffic/ criminal calendars cover every type of crime/violation from barking dogs, to no-fault insurance to assaults, drug cases, criminal property damage and also include regulatory violations from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the State Harbors Division, the Department of Transportation and other departments. FAMILY COURT The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney continues to assign one Hilo and one Kona deputy to handle Family Court cases. Additionally, our North Hawaii deputy handles all of the Family Court cases for the Hamakua, North and South Kohala areas. The goals of the Family Court positions are: 1. Early identification by all participants of the criminal justice system; 2. Expedited processing through the criminal justice system; 3. Intense monitoring of a juvenile's criminal activity and more meaningful sentencing; 4. Maintaining a network with other agencies to exchange information on gang identification, gang activities and case dispositions. These agencies include probation, police, Department of Education, Family Court and other private agencies; 5. Promoting prevention programs through schools and community organizations. FORFEITURE PROTECT The State Forfeiture Law, Chapter 712A of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, as amended, is intended to impose economic sanctions on persons for the profits derived from criminal activity. The instrumentalities used or intended to be used to facilitate the commission of covered offenses can be forfeited. The Forfeiture Program is administered by the State Attorney General's Office. Forfeitures can be processed administratively by the State Attorney General's Office or judicially (for real estate and other high value assets). Successful forfeiture prosecutions are joint efforts by the Hawaii County Police Department, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Department of the Attorney General. The Police and Prosecutor's Office each receive 25% of the forfeited asset after the asset is sold. These monies or forfeited items can be used for law enforcement purposes. These forfeiture monies cannot be used to supplant the County's budget. Our goal is to continue efforts to forfeit assets acquired through illegal activity or used for illegal activity. Forfeitures take the profitability out of illegal activity and places the asset or the proceeds from the assets to use for law enforcement. We have found that forfeitures is an effective deterrent to criminal activity. Presently, forfeitures are done part-time by one attorney supervisor, a legal assistant and a secretary. They manage all forfeiture cases and network with local police, the Attorney General's, Federal drug enforcement agencies, and the Federal Postal Forfeiture Unit. Our office has networked with State law enforcement agencies on the mainland when defendants have been active in illegal drug activities both here and in other states. We have initiated and participated in a joint effort with the Federal DEA on seizures from major drug dealers. Statistics reflect that this effort has also brought thousands of dollars to the County of Hawaii from forfeited assets giving the County of Hawaii additional funds for law enforcement purposes. 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 I -IRS 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. The victim counselors provide a multitude of services to victims, their significant others, and witnesses of crimes to minimize 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 Parol Board minimum term hearings, transportation, emergency services (food, clothing, shelter, restraining orders), intercession with employers and creditors, referrals, short term and crisis counseling, making travel and other arrangements for returning witnesses, witness coordination to lessen the amount of time spent waiting at court, providing a secure waiting area for witnesses away from defendants, providing support during interviews of victims of child abuse, domestic violence, sex assault and other sensitive cases in addition to other services to deputies, presentations to community organizations and training to other agencies. The counselors also coordinate witnesses at grand jury hearings, providing support and information to witnesses and calling in returns and changes to the indictment. The clerical staff of the unit are responsible for clerical support to the counselors and the coordinator by typing letters, sending letters for specific situations, monitoring files for responses, maintaining current and accurate records of the clientele, screening daily police bulletins for potential users of the program, sending outreach letters, checking grand jury witnesses' availability for hearings, scheduling compensation, opening and closing case files, designing brochures and forms, and notifying victims of the disposition of family court and district court cases. In addition, the Senior Clerk -Stenographer submits monthly, quarterly and yearly Federal and State reports, tracks program expenditures, finalizes travel arrangements for returning witnesses and program staff. Of the present positions in the VAU, funding sources are: County Coordinator - Hilo Counselor II - Hilo Counselor II - Kona Federal Counselor II - Hilo Counselor II - Hilo 3/4 Time Clerk -Steno - Hilo Counselor I - Kona State Counselor II - Kona Counselor II - Hilo Counselor I - Hilo ~ - Counselor I - Hilo (vacant) Sr. Clerk -Stenographer - Hilo Sr. Clerk -Typist - Kona Clerk -Stenographer - Hilo Due to the size of the Big Island, staff are maintained in the Hilo and Kona offices of the Prosecuting Attorney. The Hilo staff of VAU covers cases initiated out of all districts except Kona and North Kohala, which are the responsibility of the Kona staff. During the last six months of 1998, the unit provided services to 4,135 people. The office has developed a victim notification system. Victims are now automatically notified when a case is referred to the office and when trial, change of pleas, and sentencings are scheduled. Notification letters totaling 5,549 were sent out in 1998. The Victim Assistance Program is the only agency that is available to ALL victims and witnesses of crime. The Program's services directly benefit the people of Hawaii County. However, the benefits would be seriously affected if funding is insufficient to maintain the present staff. INVESTIGATIONS UNIT The unit conducts investigations in a variety of cases, from simple traffic cases to cases of the most complex, confidential and diverse nature. This may include conducting follow-up investigations of the information received form the police investigation which accompanies the case referral, preparing exhibits from courtroom presentation, locating expert witnesses, coordinating witnesses at trial, and a variety of other tasks. The unit also assists and coordinates with the Hawaii County Police Department and other law enforcement agencies national and international location and apprehension of fugitives. CLERICAL UNIT Our office has the largest legal clerical staff -in Hawaii County with seventeen clerical employees in the Hilo Office and six clerical employees in the Kona Office that provide assistance to both office attorneys and investigators. The Victim Assistance Unit and Administration each have their own clerical staff. The clerical staff has unique demands placed upon the, due to the nature of criminal prosecution. Much of the work demands are rushed, because offenders are in custody and there are time restraints imposed by the courts which are not experienced in the civil sector. The ever increasing court requirements, the public's and other agencies' demands for more and faster service have been attempted without additional personnel, because of the Mayor's restrictions on new personnel requests. Doing more with less does not encourage greater efficiency or effectiveness. The clerical staff does not only do traditional work such as legal documents, but they have a unique computer tracking and updating responsibilities for the over 1,200 new cases opened in our office each month. Moreover, the thousands of traffic citations that are processed in the office by the clerical staff are not traced nor included in case workload unless they are set for trial. Whenever requests from the public or work within the office require follow-up, the clerical staff is involved. Most written communication within and outside the office require clerical assistance. Our office is the largest litigation office in Hawaii County. We are proud of our clerical staff's professionalism and the contribution they make to our litigation efforts. Along with the other support units, the clerical staff provide quality legal services to the public.