NCJ Number
81722
Date Published
1981
Length
62 pages
Annotation
Based on an August 1981 visit by a technical assistance team from the Criminal Prosecution Technical Assistance Project, this report examines management and operational problems in the office of the State Attorney for Monroe County, Fla., and details recommendations for prosecutorial services.
Abstract
Interviews with the State Attorney and other criminal justice personnel focused on the issues of control and uniformity between the main Key West office and two field offices as well as the development of information and accounting systems. The report covers the county's geographic and demographic characteristics; local criminal justice processes and the State Attorney Office's staff and caseload, planning and administration, court administration, and coordination between police and prosecutors. Problems caused by the county's practice of having the police instead of the State Attorney file all charges directly with the court are discussed, along with the lack of pretrial conferences and an inadequate system of case tracking. An alternative file card method is outlined, as are the advantages of a computerized system. Because of the existing case tracking methods, the technical assistance team found that statistical records were not being kept. Other areas reviewed include the child support enforcement programs and victim-witness matters. The team recommended that the State Attorney develop his role as planner for the county criminal justice system and consider a written manual summarizing the policies of his administration. Other suggestions included returning to the system of the State Attorney filing all charges, training police in search and seizure and interrogations, establishing a circuit court judge in the Upper Keys, and redesigning the case jacket currently in use. Footnotes, resumes of the technical assistance team, and forms for the recommended tracking and reporting systems are provided.