December 21, 2000
Mercer County Prosecutor Daniel G. Giaquinto announced today that the
Community Prosecution Unit established by the office in March of this year is
shifting into full gear.
“Reaching
out, interacting and cooperating with the community is not a temporary trend,”
Giaquinto said. “It is a movement
that is going full steam and one that will bring success to law enforcement.”
Community
policing is the primary component of community justice.
The next crucial element is community prosecution.
What is community prosecution? Officially, it is the focus of prosecutorial
resources on targeted areas and involves a long-term, proactive partnership
among the prosecutor’s office, the police, the community and public and
private organizations, whereby the authority of the prosecutor’s office is
used to solve problems, improve public safety and enhance the quality of life in
the community. Presently it is less
a program than a philosophy. The
concept is quite simple; it recognizes that crime reduction and neighborhood
enhancement must be built on true partnerships.
The
present, traditional model of a prosecutor’s office is an arrest-generated,
case-oriented, reactive approach. It
is neither problem-oriented nor proactive.
Assistant prosecutors are centrally located and are assigned to trial
teams or to units focusing on specific types of crime such as homicide, sex
offenses and domestic violence, with the most senior prosecutors handling the
most serious major crimes. There is
not much direct interaction between the prosecutors and police and even less
interaction between prosecutors and members of the community.
Moreover, due to the large volume of cases and strained resources, county
and municipal prosecutors are unable to give quality-of-life crimes and offenses
the time and attention they require.
In
embracing the concept of community prosecution, Giaquinto intends to gradually
change the structure of his office. However,
he assures that he will not totally reject the traditional prosecutorial model.
“A necessary ingredient of a successful community prosecution program
is ‘taking care of business,’” Giaquinto explained.
“That is, major crimes must still be solved and successfully
prosecuted. In order to accomplish
this, I believe that we must retain those units that focus on specific areas of
prosecution and require a certain expertise.”
“However,
I believe that all members of this office, regardless of their assignment, must
embrace the concept and philosophy of community prosecution,” Giaquinto
continued.
According
to Giaquinto, the initial focus on community prosecution will involve several
key components:
·
A
community justice coordinator, made possible by a grant received from the state
Division of Criminal Justice, will continue to be employed.
The coordinator acts as a liaison between the prosecutor’s office,
community policing units and neighborhood associations and groups.
·
Two
assistant prosecutors will be appointed based on a geographically based model.
One will be assigned to the borough and township of Princeton and one
will be assigned to specifically targeted zones or neighborhoods in the city of
Trenton. They will screen all cases
arising out of their areas for appropriate dispositions.
They will prosecute all indictable matters arising out of their areas,
and will be available to assist municipal prosecutors in prosecuting
quality-of-life violations arising out of the same areas.
They will work closely with municipal police, municipal agencies and
community associations and groups in problem solving and enhancing the quality
of life in their specific areas.
·
Assistant
prosecutors will be assigned as liaisons to each high school and middle school
in Mercer County. They will be
expected to become familiar with their assigned school and its administration,
and to be available to answer questions on School Search Guidelines and the
Memorandum of Agreement between Education and Law Enforcement.
·
Every
assistant prosecutor will be required to participate in the office’s “Life
is Beautiful Campaign,” the title for our stepped up education and prevention
program. Detectives, agents and
victim witness counselors from the prosecutor’s office are also required to
participate. “We can make a big
difference through community outreach and public education,” Giaquinto stated.
“We would rather prevent crime than prosecute it.”
·
The
focus of the office’s fugitive efforts will expand to include chronic
“community offenders,” regardless of the nature of the bench warrant.
Offenders who are constantly cited with minor violations and fail to
appear in court will no longer feel immune because of the traditional law
enforcement practice of only pursuing fugitives wanted for major offenses.
With
this new philosophy and approach, the Community Prosecution program aims to
break down traditional barriers and empower the community with the means to play
an active role in law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
“Together with community police efforts, we will bring back public
trust in law enforcement and restore neighborhoods,” Giaquinto stated.
The
program will allow prosecutors to gain information that many times is not
available in a case file. It will
enhance their ability to identify and focus on the “neighborhood terrorist.” Essentially, it will assist the office in its capability to
“prosecute smart.” Cooperation
and communication between the police, the prosecutor’s office, the community
and municipal agencies such as housing, health and waste disposal will build the
foundations for a true partnership to combat crime and enhance communities.