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Home My WebLink AboutFY 2016 Budget Presentation-Prosecuting AttorneyR ~r:i;:: VED County of Kauai Office of the Prosecuting Attorney 2016 Budget Presentation April 14, 2015 Justin F. Kollar, Prosecuting Attorney Kevin K. Takata, First Deputy Rebecca A . Vogt , Second Deputy Diana Gausepohl-White , Victim/Witness Program Director County of Kaua'i -Office of the Prosecuting Attorney I. Mission It is our mission to promote the fair, impartial and expeditious pursuit of justice in every case, to ensure safer communities, and to promote integrity in our profession. It is our mission to temper justice with compassion, and to do our work in an open, transparent, and accountable way. II. Vision Our vision is for a safe and healthy community, where: • Offenders are held accountable. • Case dispositions are appropriate for offense and offender. • Timely and efficient administration of justice occurs. • Service delivery is improved for victims and witnesses. • Crime is reduced. • Fear of crime is reduced. Our vision is for an Office of the Prosecuting Attorney (OPA) that exemplifies: • Competent and professional behavior. • Efficient, fiscally responsible management and administration. • Consistent, coordinated enforcement efforts and administration of justice. III. FY 15 Successes and Achievements Cold Case Unit • PA Kollar, 1st DPA Takata, DPA Mendes, KPD detectives. • Special Investigators Burgess and Adric. • Contract for DNA analysis. • Contract for other forensic analysis. • Continuation of Grant funding via Department of the Attorney General and Governor's Commission on Crime. • The unit was able to get Honolulu PD (HPD to accept DNA profiles developed by a private lab; first time that HPD has agreed to accept profiles from a private lab. Anticipating that we will break some unsolved homicides, we need funding for expert witnesses and other litigation expenses (e.g., transcripts). FY 2016 Budget Presentation -Office of the Prosecuting Attorney Page 2 Vehicular Crimes Prosecution • PA Kollar, DPA Mendes. • Grant funding to investigate and prosecute cases involving vehicular manslaughter, negligent homicide, negligent injury, and OVUII. • State Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP) program. • State Highway Safety Council. • Significant strengthening of OVUII/impaired driving and vehicular manslaughter prosecution efforts. Career Criminal Prosecution • DPAs Winn and Arin • Grant funding to investigate and prosecute cases involving serious offenders and career criminals. • Primarily offenders currently serving probation or parole; felon in possession of Firearm/ Ammunition; repeat violent offenders. • Funding challenges requiring coordinated response from the counties. Other Accomplishments • Mobile solutions -tie Case Management System (CMS) into tablet devices for attorneys so productivity continues regardless of location. • Support Constitutional Amendment establishing Crime Victim Rights. Hawaii is one of 1 7 states without a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing specific rights of crime victims and their immediate surviving family members. SB679 -DEFERRED. • Hosted statewide Hawaii Prosecuting Attorneys Association (HPAA) Domestic Violence (DV) training (grant funds) October 23-24, 2014 in COK Emergency Operations Center . • Restored garden honoring crime victims. • Victim-witness work area build-outs (Victims of Crime Act -VOCA funding). • It is now a felony to commit a DV offense in the presence of a minor under the age of 14. Desktop scanning -We have improved workflow operations after moving the daily scanning of documents done by clerical staff to individual desktops. This has become more critical with the increased usage and reliance on our CMS . • JustWare Project Management -expanded use of our JustWare CMS to support internal departmental projects. This allows for automated timeline tracking, resource assignment, and staff updates. FY 2016 Budget Presentation -Office of the Prosecuting Attorney Page 3 • • New tablet technology-cheaper than a desktop PC and more versatile. Expanding into our Victim Witness program for mobile connections into our critical online systems. Girls Court -Statewide program expanded to Kauai in February 2015 . Girls Court reaches out to young women at a crossroads in their lives to help break the destructive behavior cycle. The goal of the program is to prevent or reduce female juvenile delinquency by encouraging healthy attitudes, behaviors, and life styles as well as promoting self- control and responsibility. Hawaii was one of the first states in the nation to launch a Girls Court model in 2004 on Oahu, with 116 girls and 234 of their family participating thus far. In a recent study, Girls Court participants have had 88.1 % fewer law violations, 98.2% fewer status offenses, and 57.8% fewer detention home admissions. IV. FY15 Challenges • Shrinking Career Criminal Prosecution/Victim Witness funds o Program funding amounts made available based on program priorities o Mandated position pay increases not covered in base program funds • Increasing judicial/legislative mandates o Judiciary-required entry of charges into online systems o No flexibility; have to perform to judiciary mandates • Expanding mental health calendar and challenges o Increased District Court mental health cases strain the already-challenged Kaua'i-based resources V. FY 16 Goals and Objectives Grant continuity • Cold Case/Unsolved Homicide Unit o Continue investigating o Continue forensic analysis of evidence o Continue reconstructing case files from cases as old as 40+ years • Career Criminal Prosecution Unit o Reverse trend of decreasing funds o Continue to keep focus on repeat/habitual offenders o Move cases into court and through system expeditiously • Vehicular Crimes Unit o Maintain a high conviction rate for OVUII cases o Expedite handling of vehicular homicide cases FY 2016 Budget Presentation -Office of the Prosecuting Attorney Page 4 Case Management System Enhancements • JusticeWeb: o Provides mechanism for KPD to easily transfer written reports and documents into OPA Case Management System (CMS) o Allows for secure, on-line dissemination of discovery documents to defense counsel and other resources outside of OPA o Automates repetitive tasks throughout the filing process Training • Actively seek out grant funds and low/no-cost opportunities to share knowledge. • Continue to provide training to support staff and supervisors as well as attorneys. • Increase cross-training opportunities for staff to ensure coverage during staff shortages or absences. • Expand education and information sharing opportunities for the Judiciary, state and county legislators, and law enforcement partners. • Host another statewide training on Kaua'i. FY 2016 Budget Presentation -Office of the Prosecuting Attorney Page 5 VI. Budget Overview: FY 2015 and FY 2016 Comparison 2 ,500 ,000 2 ,000 ,000 1 ,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 FY 2015 •FY2016 Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip , Operations Lease FY 2015 FY 2016 $_ + l -O/o + l - Salary and Wages 2,171,724 2,254,649 82,925 3.8°/o *Benefits 1,311,856 1,281,591 -30,265 -2.3% Utilities 14,760 13,680 -1,080 -7.3% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 7,350 41,402 34,052 463.3% Operations 159,764 198i185 38i421 24.0% 3,665,454 3,789,507 124,053 3.4% * FY 20 1 5 Be n e fit s i n cl u de r esto rin FY 2016 Budget Presentation -Office of the Prosecuting Attorney Page 6 FY 2015 Operating Budget •Salary and Wages •Benefits •Utilities •Vehicle/Equip, Lease FY 2016 Operating Budget 1%5% •Salary and Wages •Benefits •Utilities •Vehicle/Equip, Lease Total budget: $ 3,789,507 FY 2016 Budget Presentation -Office of the Prosecuting Attorney Page 7