District attorney issues dire warning to loosen up more funding

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, May 18, 1999 | 3:24 a.m.

State and county policy-makers in the past have responded to rising crime rates by bolstering Metro Police's force and hiring more judges to expedite cases.

But forgotten has been the Clark County division that has struggled to keep up with the increased workload -- the district attorney's office, where secretaries log more than 120 hours of overtime during each pay period.

District Attorney Stewart Bell told Clark County Commissioners point-blank during Monday's special budget meeting that if he doesn't get six positions he requested, dangerous criminals likely will be set free.

"Without these positions, bad things are going to happen," Bell said.

Bell said his department needs another domestic violence lawyer, a process server for domestic violence cases, a data entry clerk, a secretary, a post-conviction petition processor and a victims advocate. None of the jobs were recommended for funding for the fiscal year 1999-2000 budget.

Bell, flanked by Metro Sheriff Jerry Keller and Assistant District Attorney Chuck Thompson, was the only department administrator to complain about the distribution of funds in the county's $722.7 million budget, which will be adopted next month.

Desperate for the new employees, Bell even offered to pitch in funding from his department. He offered to concede $20,000 from his overtime budget and $100,000 from bad check program revenues.

"This is critical to public safety and critical to the county's liability," he said.

Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury listened intently to Bell's plight and proposition before gaining the support of board members to add funding for the positions.

Keller emphasized that tens of thousands residents move into the valley each year and "not all are church-going, law-abiding citizens."

Since state legislators passed a law saying domestic violence suspects charged with their third offense must do jail time, more and more people are taking their case to court, rather than simply pleading guilty and paying a fine.

Bell's office has two domestic violence attorneys who handle 150 cases each month. The sole process-server delivers more than 700 subpoenas every month. The six clerks who work in the district attorney's office type up about 45,000 cases a year.

A person arrested by Metro must have the opportunity to appear before a judge within 72 hours; if the appropriate paperwork is not completed, that person is set free.

Bell said it's important to prosecute domestic violence offenders because statistics show that those who are penalized have a 20 percent recidivism rate, while those whose cases are dropped have an 80 percent rate.

Thompson said domestic violence victims finally feel comfortable calling authorities because they trust an arrest will be made and the crime is no longer viewed as a family matter. He said it's vital that the district attorneys office follow a case through to keep up that trust.

Finance Director George Stevens said when the budget was drafted, the areas given priority were new and expanding facilities.

Of the 255 new positions listed in the county's preliminary report, 86 will go to the Family and Youth Services division, which is opening a new 200-bed detention center this year.

Finance staff also recommended the following departments receive positions funded by the general fund: Clark County Fire Department, 38 positions; Las Vegas Justice Court, 9; Administrative Services, 4; assessor's office, 2; Center for Enterprise Technology, 10; county clerk's office, 4; comprehensive planning, 2; comptroller's office, 1; coroner's office, 2; general services, 2; internal audit, 1; North Las Vegas Justice Court, 2, public administrator's office, 1; public defender's office, 2; recorder's office, 4, social services, 4 and treasurer 1.