MECKLENBURG COUNTY
Criminal Justice System
Homicide Task Force
March 24, 2006
Presentation Outline
• Overview of criminal justice system
– System components
– Staffing
– Funding
– Case load
• Challenges and opportunities for growth
Criminal Justice System
Components
• Law Enforcement Agencies
• Court Agencies
– Judges
– Clerk’s Office
– Public Defender’s Office
– District Attorney’s Office
• District Court – Misdemeanor / Traffic
• Superior Court – Felonies
Sworn Law Enforcement in
Mecklenburg County
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CMPD
1557
MCSO
325
ABC
12
ALE
15
CMS (School)
16
Cornelius PD
37
DMV (License & Theft) 20
Davidson PD
18
Huntersville PD
60
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Johnson C. Smith
Matthews PD
Metro Special Police
Mint Hill PD
Pineville PD
SBI
SHP
UNCC
Total Sworn Law
Enforcement:
6
55
5
25
37
25
33
31
2277
FY06 Funding
Char-Meck Police Department:
Meck. County Sheriff’s Office:
$155.7 Million
$84.6 Million
Offenses Reported to CMPD 2005
• Total Offenses Reported
– Homicide
– Robbery
– Burglary
– Vehicle Theft
• Total Arrests by CMPD
54,844
85
3,649
12,783
7,098
26,741
Caseload and Staffing
• Misdemeanor / Traffic Filings – Approx. 190,000
• Felony Filings – Approx. 8,000
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clerk’s Office – Criminal Division
Magistrates – Criminal
District Court Judges
Superior Court Judges
Public Defender
District Attorney
36 (Permanent State Funded)
+16 (County Funded , Other)
52
District Attorney Liaison Unit
1 Sergeant and 6 Detectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Manage 800+ cases per month
Serve 1600+ subpoenas per month
Locate victims/witnesses in and out of state
Assist ADA’s with trial exhibits/presentations
Investigate criminal cases - perjury, “warrant no issue”
Handle Interstate Compacts
Oversee about 250 Grand Jury cases weekly
Oversee Citizen’s Parole Accountability Committee
State Overview
State Overview
National Rankings
North Carolina ranks TOP in the following
categories:
– 1st in the number of criminal filings per
100,000 population
– 2nd in the gross number of criminal filings
– 6th in number of felony filings
– 10th in overall number of court system
filings
State Overview
• Judicial Branch received $342,924,393 or
1.90% of the General Fund in FY 06
Percent
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
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Mecklenburg County
Overview
County Overview
• Mecklenburg has 9% of the NC population
and processes 9% of all court cases
• Mecklenburg logs 20% of Violent Index
Crime and 15% of Property Index Crime
• At the same time, Mecklenburg receives
6.7% of the Judicial Branch budget
County Overview
• The County spends more than twice as much to
house pretrial prisoners as the State does to support
the criminal courts in Mecklenburg County
60
48
Dollars in Millions
50
40
30
20
19
10
0
State
Mecklenburg
Criminal Justice System
Challenges
County Challenges
Criminal Courts
• District Courts – 6
– Administrative
– Trial
2
4
• Total Trial Days– 936
• Superior Courts – 4
1 Probation
Hearings/Misdemeano
r Appeals
1 Administrative
2 Felony Trials
Total – 912
Superior Court Days
Mecklenburg County Impact Technology
• Judges do not have access to critical information
to make informed decisions
– Lack access to information on continuances, failures
to appear, subpoenas, and payments
• Court Administrators do not have access to
critical information to manage effectively
– Lack information to organize dockets and measure
performance
• Duplication of effort is common place
• Paper process leads to delay, errors and lost
information
Mecklenburg County Impact
• Staff Turnover resulting from noncompetitive salaries:
– In 2005, the staff turnover percentage for
Superior Court, District Court and Clerk’s
Office was at least double the State average
– 56% of Clerk of the Superior Court employees
resign within 5 years
– In FY05, the Clerk’s Office had a 16%
turnover rate
Funding Comparison
6,000,000
5,228,527
Dollars in Millions
5,000,000
4,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
Animal Control
DA's Office
DA Staffing Comparison
Pop.
ADA’s
Sup. Staff
Judges
Judge asst.
PD’s
Felony cases
Disposed
* Felony only
Charlotte, NC
668,003
52
38
26
4
40
8,802
Portland, Or
545,271
86*
132
38
38
50
6,287
Mecklenburg County Impact
– In 2005, DA staff
turnover was 8% higher
than the state average
– The DA’s office has lost
53 Assistant District
Attorneys in the last 5
years
A Picture is Worth
a Thousand Words
Challenges to the Criminal
Justice System
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Inadequate Staffing Levels
Staff Turnover
Inadequate Court Information System
Out-Dated PCs
Paperbound System
Overloaded Telephone System
Limited Case Preparation Time
Limited Court Time
Funding Sources
State Legislature
County Commission
City Council
MECKLENBURG COUNTY
Criminal Justice System
Questions