PAC2 meeting minutes 10 November 2003
Announcements
Judicial system
Police staffing changes
ABC permits
Impact team update
Citizen Observer Patrol update
Housing & Community Development staff changes
Announcements:
Risa Foster announced a public meeting on Duke-Durham interagency policing to be held Tuesday, November 11th at 7 pm. The meeting will be held in the community room at the DPD headquarters. It should be an informative question-and-answer session.
Durham is seeking input for the Cultural Master Plan; Katherine invited everyone to contribute. This is your opportunity to help determine Durham’s cultural future.
The Herald-Sun is launching a new feature, the “Fix Durham” column. Its premise is that if there’s a problem, and action is not forthcoming from the appropriate government channels, citizens can contact “Fix Durham” and the paper will do the legwork to see that community problems are addressed. “Fix Durham” can be reached at 419-6625 or news@heraldsun.com.
Newman noted that nominations for the Neighborhood Watch Awards of Excellence are being accepted. He urged us to consider nominating Eric Hester, the Durham Police, or the Durham community. This would bring recognition to PAC2′s efforts, and it would be good for the community as a whole to understand the involvement and scope of neighborhood involvement. Applications are available on the web site, www.pac2durham.com, or by contacting Newman at newman@nc.rr.com.
Mike Shiflett proposed that we recognize Officer Tony Scott for his help with PAC2 and the Neighborhood Watch program, with a special presentation at the next PAC2 meeting. A motion to do so was made and carried.
Mike Shiflett also announced that PAC2 has received a digital camera, a donation from past PAC2 facilitator Robert Appleby. Mike will get the camera and learn how to use it over the holidays, then starting in January it will be available for loan to PAC2 members, to photograph suspicious solicitors, loose dogs, etc.
Judicial system:
Tonight’s speakers were District Attorney Jim Hardin and Judge Elaine O’Neal, Chief District Court Judge of the 14th District. Hardin began his remarks by emphasizing that most police response calls, and most cases that end up in court, originate with a 911 call; consequently, community vigilance plays an essential role in the judicial system.
Hardin explained that plea bargaining is a case management tool that has become essential in modern times. When the American justice system was established, over two hundred years ago, every criminal case was tried in court. Over time, however, the volume of criminal trials has grown tremendously, and now makes plea bargaining a necessary evil, because our justice system doesn’t have the time and resources for every case to go to trial.
North Carolina’s expenditures on its entire court system constitute less than 3% of the annual state budget. That’s less than half the national average. The average spending on the court system is slightly over 6% of a state’s budget, and there are some Northeastern states that spend as much as 20% of their budget on the courts.
Asked whether the states spending 20% of their budget on their court systems plea bargain fewer cases, Hardin said he had never seen any studies on that and didn’t know. He pointed out that NC does fairly well relative to our meager expenditure; NC usually leads the Southeast in average disposition time of cases.
Katherine asked whether plea bargaining affects the point system. Points are assigned for prior crimes, but if prior crimes have been plea bargained down to lesser charges, then the point matrix may not actually reflect the reality of a defendant’s prior criminal history. Hardin acknowledged that that was the case. Katherine further asked whether, when prior criminal history was considered in setting bonds, this was also based on the point system or on investigation that would reveal what past crimes really were, not what they may have been pled down to. Hardin said that there is a statewide information system, maintained by the clerk of court’s office in each county, which shows all previous charges, regardless of how the charges were resolved. The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) also collects information for NCIC, the national database. In effect, there are two different systems with no communication between the two. Magistrates don’t have access to the NCIC system. They use the information from the clerk’s office, which is accessed on a county-by-county basis. By default, magistrates look at the information from Durham County. They have the ability to access information from any of NC’s other 99 counties, but they would have to request each of them individually, which becomes very time-consuming.
A member of the audience pointed out that a better system is in the works, but its development has been repeatedly deferred for want of funds, and it is now slated for 2004.
Hardin said that in deciding how to proceed with a case, his office always considers four factors: (1) what the law allows; (2) what the available resources are; (3) what the community expects; and (4) the quality of the evidence. He reminded us that the standard of proof he has to meet in prosecuting a case is much higher than the standard the police can use. Most cases are not perfect in terms of the quality of evidence.
Hardin was asked whether there is any plan to develop an artificial intelligence system that could analyze the probabilities of future crimes based on the possible disposition of current cases. He said no, and added that the only thing in the works that would be somewhat similar is the gang database. This was developed in California; it encompasses people, places, vehicles, and other gang-related phenomena. Durham is getting this database, and other NC law enforcement agencies will be able to share in its use.
Newman asked what resources would be required to comply with recent community demands to eliminate plea bargaining for violent crimes. Hardin responded that the problem is very complex, because when you change any part of the judicial system, there’s a ripple effect that involves the courts, the police, the courthouse, the court reporters, the bailiffs, and every other part of the system. Firstly, Hardin said, it simply couldn’t be done, because some cases just aren’t strong enough to go to trial. So plea bargaining could never be eliminated, just minimized. If Hardin’s staff were doubled or tripled to handle the additional trial load that would result, we’d also need about six more district court judges, as well as more courtrooms, more bailiffs, etc. Newman asked what Hardin would suggest, in that case, to send a message to criminals that violent crime in Durham will be taken seriously. Hardin opined that we’re doing pretty well now, given available resources. He has thirteen lawyers for eight courtrooms, and they also need time to prepare; he just spent 5 ½ months in court on a single case. They take tough positions on domestic violence, armed robbery, assault, and murder. Hardin said that 80% of their resources are spent on 20% of the cases.
Hardin was then asked to give some examples of what we’re doing right, and describe how the system is working effectively. The first example he mentioned was the STARS program, a notification program that’s a joint effort involving the police, the sheriff’s office, the DA, the SBI, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s office. Every six to eight weeks, they bring together a group of convicted felons; the focus is on warning them what will happen if they commit further crimes, especially ones involving the possession of handguns or other firearms. State law is not severe on gun possession, but federal law is. Consequently, the worst cases (about 50 to 75 a year) are sent for federal prosecution.
Another positive example is Project Safe Neighborhoods, whose focus is on the 18- to 25-year-old population involved with gun crime. Part of PSN’s work is to trace every gun fired or seized. Lots of guns are sold in Durham. Authorities believe that there are probably half a dozen major gun suppliers; if those could be eliminated, it would help a great deal.
Durham has a special gang prosecutor, and a habitual felon prosecutor; we’ve just gotten a grant for a gun crime prosecutor. Other things we’re doing right include the Savin system for victim notification, the domestic violence court, and teen court. Teen court is a venue where teenage offenders are tried by their peers, instead of having to go to juvenile court or be treated as young offenders in district court. It has a recidivism rate of less than 5%.
Katherine then asked about the process of setting bonds, and whether the factors of prior criminal history, strength of case, ties to the community, and probable cause were all given equal weight in the decision. Hardin said that since he wasn’t a judge, he wouldn’t try to answer that one, and deferred to Judge O’Neal. She said that it was a matter of individual judgment, and that there were no set percentages for weighting the factors. Durham’s current bond policy, which was adopted by Ken Titus and Orlando Hudson in 2001, sets guidelines for bond amounts and types of crimes. Hardin pointed out that it’s to Durham County’s credit that we’ve had a bond policy in place for about ten years; some counties have no policy on setting bonds. Katherine raised the issue of people committing crimes while they’re out on bond for another crime, which seems to occur frequently. O’Neal pointed out that many defendants have access to significant financial resources. Judges must set a bond, but if the defendants have money, they can get free even if the amount is high. If they’re involved in the drug trade, they have easy access to large sums.
Someone else suggested that we think about prevention as well as crime and punishment, and how to keep young offenders who’ve made a bad decision from going into the system and emerging as even more hardened criminals. One possibility is the use of wireless monitoring systems.
O’Neal responded that rehabilitation is an area the criminal justice system struggles with. A 15- or 16-year-old convicted of a felony loses certain rights. They’ve lost the right to vote before they were ever old enough to exercise it. Prospective employers do background checks, and want no part of them. So how can these kids survive, and what can we do for them? O’Neal said she’s watched them go from juvenile court to district court, from a 14-year-old to a 22-year-old who’s never been able to get a job. That’s the reality. At the age of 25, if you want to change your life, and even if you’ve gone back to school and gotten your GED, you still have a felony conviction, and consequently can’t find a job at a livable wage. What can the court system do? In O’Neal’s words, “zippo.” The judicial system is 1/3 of government, and receives 3% of the budget. There’s no way out of the cycle; we’ll continue to see people come out of the system and go back in. It’s easier to stand on the corner than to go and face rejection every day. With a felony conviction, even if it happened ten years ago, a person can’t even get a cleaning job. It costs $62,000 to house one kid for one year at a training school. They can’t lock everyone up, O’Neal argued; the community has to change its attitude.
Someone then asked whether there’s a ceiling on bond amounts. If a defendant can post a $60,000 bond, why not set a $400,000 bond? O’Neal reminded us that there is a bond policy. Judges are elected to be fair and uphold the laws. A bond legally cannot be used as punishment. And even if she could do that, there are still some defendants who could make a million-dollar bond.
O’Neal was asked how bonds get reduced. She explained that bond amounts are initially set by a magistrate. Within 72 hours, the defendant will see a district court judge, who may adjust the bond amount, depending on the individual case. Six judges, said O’Neal, would likely have six different opinions. She could give each of us a composite defendant and a copy of the bond policy, and we’d each come up with a different amount within the specified range. The judge can adjust the bond amount up or down, or leave it at the amount set by the magistrate. This is based on the information available to the judge at the time. The bond amount can also be adjusted at the next court hearing, and so on throughout the process, until the case comes to trial.
Durham County’s criminal district court has one courtroom open every day; Wake County has four. The judge works from 9 am until whenever they get done with the day’s cases. The daily caseload ranges from a hundred to four or five hundred cases per day. O’Neal took a count recently on an average day; if there had been a policy in place of no plea bargaining on gun cases, there would have been seventeen trials from a docket of 200 cases. In traffic court, there can be as many as 800 cases in a day. For instance, take the case of a traffic stop where a motorist was cited for running a red light. The officer says he ran the light; the motorist says he didn’t. There’s no proof either way, and the standard for conviction is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. So they plea bargain and settle for a city code violation, and the defendant gets a fine.
Newman asked whether the current bond policy is working in terms of meeting the goal of protecting the community, and if not, how the system could effectively address that. O’Neal said that when the Herald-Sun asked her to rate the system, she gave it a grade of C+: that is, average, with a plus for effort. There’s a great deal of room for improvement. One thing we need that some other cities have is a pre-trial detention program. This would include someone whose job it would be to investigate and get the information judges need to base their decisions on–for instance, checking records from all 100 counties, which magistrates don’t have time to do. This could add half a million to a million dollars to the county budget.
O’Neal also pointed out the mismatch between the jail and the courthouse. Our courthouse wasn’t designed as a courthouse, but as an office building. There are lots of things we could do to improve the system, but it all takes resources. Hardin’s office is very understaffed; he has 13 assistant DAs, where Wake County has 30. Likewise, we have six judges, where Guilford County (Greensboro) has fourteen. Durham County continues to be the stepchild of the region.
If Hardin had more prosecutors, we’d need more judges and more clerks. Hardin explained that the legislature allocates the number of district court judges, magistrates, superior court judges, and ADAs. This allocation is supposed to be based on a formula, but Hardin said it’s really based on politics. If the problem is politics, Newman said, then that’s where the community can act to bring political pressure. We need to let our legislators know that we want our fair share.
Glennis said that our judicial system is so understaffed that they don’t have the resources to live up to our expectations. Therefore, he argued, we should start working on it with the legislature, even if we achieve only small gradual increases.
Mitch Archer of the Impact Team told us that he oversees a community service program for kids who have been convicted of such offenses as possession of drug paraphernalia. He works with and counsels five to fifteen kids every day, and he said his heart bleeds for them. They can’t even get work picking up trash off the street; the city’s minimum requirements for laborers are a driver’s license and a GED. These kids have to pay restitution, and can’t find a legitimate way to earn money. Archer reminded us that just as we want to go home on the weekend and spend money on entertainment, so do these young people want entertainment and stuff, and somehow they will get it. It’s up to the community to deal with this problem. Archer commended Hardin and O’Neal for the job they do within the present constraints.
A Durham County employee, who has also lived in Wake County, pointed out that our county employees are paid less than Wake pays for the same jobs. Many of our county agencies have suffered hiring freezes, but the population of Durham County doesn’t want to contemplate any tax increases. This led to an argument about taxes, in which it was pointed out that Wake has a bigger tax base, that Durham actually pays a higher rate of taxes than Wake, that Wake has more people, etc.
Katherine cut in and returned to the topic of our judicial system, asking where we could go to get more information on the matters discussed tonight. O’Neal said that one area where the system has been failing is in educating the public and letting us know the challenges they deal with. She said they now have two people working on this. The Herald-Sun will soon be doing a major article which will compare Durham to other counties of comparable size; this should be forthcoming within two or three weeks. And they’re doing the same thing themselves; O’Neal said their trial court administrator is gathering data to present to the county commissioners as a basis for going to the legislative delegation.
The judicial system needs our help, O’Neal said, to get the things they desperately need. The first priority is a new courthouse. The county commissioners haven’t made this a priority because they didn’t think a bond would pass for it. O’Neal explained that her daily environment is like a war zone. There have been two very bad incidents recently, even involving guns in the courthouse. There’s no armed security at the front door. The environment is very unsafe. She takes the elevator—when it actually works—in the company of the same criminals she sends to jail. Today she saw one of her fellow judges, who is blind, crossing the street to the annex with his judge’s robes on, which she has warned him not to do. We need a new courthouse now, before a tragedy occurs.
Secondly, O’Neal said, they need more people to help them do what they can do well. Hardin does a good job with what he has, as do the public defenders, judges, and the clerk’s office, which is in charge of all the paperwork. But the Clerk of Court doesn’t have enough clerks to put some in the new building. They need more people. O’Neal said that what she needs from us is for us not to accept making these improvements next year, or later; they’re needed now.
Newman said that we can certainly bring a pressure campaign; we just need to know what their needs are. O’Neal said that she’s working on a list, and Newman suggested that meanwhile, we could work on other needs, such as pre-trial release.
O’Neal told us that by next year, there will be a job resource center in the courthouse, the first in NC. They’ve been talking with Duke and other local employers about hiring people who are on probation, so that probation can be used as a rehabilitation tool, and not just for punishment. The probation system can ensure that people show up to work on time, and can do drug testing for employers. Many people don’t like the idea of hiring someone with a criminal record, but it’s the only way to turn them back into productive citizens.
Eric Hester, the senior police officer present at this meeting, said that he had known Hardin for many years while he was an ADA. Hester said that he recalled many cases he had investigated where without plea bargaining, all would have been lost. As an example, he told us about a home invasion committed by two brothers who had been involved in about six armed robberies. Wearing ski masks, they broke in on a couple and their six-year-old grandchild, shot at them and terrorized them. There was only one codefendant from whom the DA could get evidence and testimony against the brothers. With his testimony, they were able to build a case that included more robberies committed in another city. One of the defendants received a sentence of 140 years, under the Fair Sentencing Act. Hester said that Hardin is doing his best, and he’s been waiting for us to give him the resources needed to see justice done.
Katherine said that this PAC will work and advocate for the needs of the judicial system, but we expect accountability, and want to see some payoff in the community. PAC2 will try to get departments the resources they need, and will also try to ensure that it results in an enhanced quality of life for our community. She thanked Hardin and O’Neal for joining us tonight.
Police staffing changes:
Captain Ed Sarvis, our district commander, introduced an issue that he wanted to bring to our attention, since it would undoubtedly impact District 2. He reminded us that last month he had told us about plans to consolidate the CATT teams into a single force. Now, due to severe understaffing, the police department has been forced to temporarily dissolve the CATT team and reassign its officers to patrol squads. Sarvis said that currently, during the average shift, 30% of police beats are parked.
Ordinarily each shift would have an officer assigned to each defined police beat. When a beat is parked, it means there is no officer working that particular beat, and the patrol car for that beat is sitting parked back at the substation. Consequently, officers in surrounding beats have to cover the calls from the empty beat. Clearly, this understaffing results in longer response time to calls for service. At these levels, it also represents a very real danger to our officers as well as to the public. DPD officers don’t ride in pairs like the ones on TV; they work alone, one officer in one car. If there’s a situation that can’t be handled by a single officer, the initial responding officer may call for backup, and other units will also respond. But with so many beats empty and the patrol forces spread so thinly across the city, there might not be another officer right there in the next beat; even in an emergency situation, it could take a dangerously long time for backup units to arrive.
Sarvis addressed the question of why the DPD is so badly understaffed, explaining that we’re simply not competitive. Many veteran officers are leaving Durham to take jobs in Wake County or Cary. It takes about eleven months to train a police officer, so it’s much easier for departments to hire already experienced officers when they can. The starting salary in Wake is about $40,000, which is much higher than what Durham offers. After ten years on the force, officers in neighboring jurisdictions may be making 50% more than Durham officers.
Sarvis also explained what the CATT team does. When there’s a problem in the community, be it drug sales, a string of B&Es, or whatever, CATT is the unit that can focus on investigating and resolving it. The uniform patrol division is call-driven; a patrol officer may respond to as many as thirty 911 calls in a 12-hour shift. Patrol officers spend the overwhelming majority of their time responding to 911 calls, so they have almost no time left to actually patrol. The CATT units are not bound to 911, so they can try to solve problems. But now the patrol division is so understaffed that they can hardly manage to respond to 911 calls, so the CATT officers are more urgently needed on patrol. Sarvis predicted that we will definitely feel the impact of the elimination of these proactive crime-fighting, problem-solving units.
Chief Chalmers will go before the city council soon, possibly on December 1st, to discuss the understaffing situation. Durham has always struggled with losing veteran officers to federal agencies, but now we’re also losing officers to other local law enforcement jurisdictions.
ABC permits:
Officer Scott Baker presented two ABC permit applications for our consideration. The first was for the Town & Country Superette (formerly known as Johnny’s Food Mart), at Hillsborough & Sparger Rd. This is technically a new permit, but what’s actually going on at this location is that it’s been purchased by associates of the previous owner; the establishment has been closed for a few months due to remodeling, and is reopening under a new name. There are three other establishments selling alcohol within a half-mile radius: Food Lion, Shop & Go, and Citgo. Baker reported that the criminal history and background were clean, the call history was good, and he had received no objections from the community so far. PAC2 voted to approve the application.
The second ABC application was for the Pueblo Express Coffee Shop, at 2721 Guess Rd. It’s in a building with two other businesses, across the road from Honey’s. Despite the name, this is a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is a new permit application, for on-premises beer sales. There are no other establishments selling alcohol in the immediate area; the nearest would be at Guess & Broad. (The nearby BP and Exxon stations are service stations only, and have no ABC permits.) Baker said that the application is clean, and he has found nothing objectionable. PAC2 voted to approve.
Impact team update:
Mitch Archer reported on the latest activities of the ever-vigilant Impact Team, now located within the Solid Waste department. The search for a new Solid Waste director has been narrowed to two candidates, who are both coming to visit on Nov. 17th. Archer had applied for the position himself, but didn’t get an interview for it. He expressed puzzlement about the selection process, which has included no opportunity for community involvement and no input from within Solid Waste.
The Impact Team received and investigated 12 complaints this month, making 2 trips to the transfer station with 1.87 tons of trash and debris. They cleaned up two illegal dump sites, and made six trips to the transfer station with 4.58 tons of trash and debris from Wal-Mart and Northgate. As usual, they collected errant shopping carts: 5 from Food Lion, 5 from Wal-Mart, 1 from Winn-Dixie, 8 from Harris Teeter, 2 from Dollar Tree, 1 from Dollar General, and several more. The grocery cart ordinance has been tabled for now, until a new Solid Waste director is named. The Impact Team also removed graffiti from several locations. Anyone interested in scheduling a neighborhood cleanup should call Solid Waste.
Katherine asked about where to report illegal dumping, whether to call Housing, Solid Waste, or what; Archer said to always call him about illegal dumps. She asked about things like a couch and fridge sitting down at the curb. Archer said that if it was traceable to a particular house and located on private property, one should call Housing. However, if it’s in the city right-of-way (a 15-foot buffer zone), call him.
Someone asked about plastic bags of yard waste and whether Solid Waste would not pick these up with the trash. Archer confirmed that we should not bag leaves, as Solid Waste will not pick them up that way. To have leaves and other yard waste picked up, you must participate in the yard waste program. Even if you have the brown yard waste cart, you must also have the green sticker on it (showing that you’ve paid the annual yard waste fee) or your stuff will not be picked up. If you don’t participate in the yard waste program, you’ll be left with no alternative but to illegally dump your yard waste, and Archer will cite you when he catches you at it. To sign up for the yard waste program, call Solid Waste; you can put the charge on your water bill and spread it out over multiple months if you want to. Alternatively, you could compost your yard waste. Archer also warned us against the use of leaf blowers; he’s cited several businesses lately for blowing their leaves into the street. Leaves blown, raked, or swept into the street get into the storm drain system.
Citizen Observer Patrol update:
Newman reported on the first month of the COP program. COP volunteers have performed 141 house checks, and all sorts of other useful activity, the details of which Newman will be posting to the listserve. One volunteer, David Bowden, has single-handedly logged more than 60 hours.
Katherine asked what Officer Hester does with information brought in by COP volunteers—for instance, reports of abandoned vehicles. Hester said that he has spoken with Lynwood Best and other Housing representatives, and he will be emailing information to them so that they can address problems that fall within their jurisdiction. Hester also reported that the program has grown from the initial 20 to 46 volunteers, and that 20 people participated in the initial round of CERT training.
Housing & Community Development staff changes:
Lynwood Best reported that Housing has lost some staff and is in the midst of a reorganization. Although understaffed, they are still taking complaints and performing inspections. Katherine asked whether Best’s job had changed. He said that the community relations job description hasn’t changed, but that he has been given other duties in addition to his existing job.