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e/U'S" Department\r. of Justice ( ,~Justlce Programs \ Institute of Justice I ~ 0 ~ ~

James K. stewart, Director Reprinted from NIJ Reports/No. 214 May/June 1989

Police-Prosecutor Teams: Innovations in Several Jurisdictions

by John Buchanan

More than half a century ago, in 1931, Maine's experience and that of three officers contend, that the case receives the National Commission on Law Obser- municipal arid county jurisdictions in reasonable consideration when charges vance and Enforcement found that there other States is recounted in this article, are requested and plea bargains made. was "frequent and characteristic want of using information gathered from site cooperation between the investigating visits. More common are disagreements and prosecuting agencies in the same (usually after the fact) about the quality of certain types of evidence or investi- locality. ''1 Despite subsequent efforts The police-prosecutor over the years to understand and rectify gations, the amount of evidence needed theproblem, difficulties in the police- problem to file charges or go to trial, the point at which an arrest should take place, prosecutor relationship persist to this Researchers have identified many and the kind of plea bargain that should day. z factors that contribute to the coopera- tion gap between police investigators be made. In the last several years, however, some and prosecutors) One is that lawyers jurisdictions have broken new ground. Poor communication between the police and police officers have different officer and the prosecutor~ for whatever They have cleared the way for investi- vantage points and thus different gators and prosecutors to work closely reason, makes the defense attorney's perspectives on crime. Differences job easier and the prosecutor's job together every step of the way, focusing between police and prosecution poficies on the same goal----conviction. harder. 7 If the officer and the prosecutor and priorities can make coordination do not discuss potential weaknesses difficult. 4 Case attrition (where an arrest Consider the State-of Maine. In t9~7, -in their case, the defense may be able is made but no charge is ever filed) is- the legislature created an entirely new to outmaneuver them at trial. The un- one result of poor coordination. 5 agency, the Bureau of Intergovernmental prepared prosecution can then find itself Drug Enforcement, which has reshaped Prosecutors need a great deal of infor- on the defensive as it scrambles to the narcotics investigation-prosecution mation to build a case but usually lack counter the defendant's arguments. process. The agency is responsible for person-to-person contact with the "the integration and coordination of officer most knowledgeable about the Despite a long history of difficulties, investigative and prosecutorial functions case. 6 A prosecutor is likely to work some agencies are bridging the gap. in the State with respect to drug law normal business hours but an officer's In jurisdictions across the country, a enforcement." This specific language hours may vary considerably. For variety of activities are under way to is Unprecedented. For the first time, a example, an officer may be on duty increase,cooperation between agencies State law mandates that investigators from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. with Tuesday and ultimately convict more criminals. and prosecutors team up to create a and Wednesday off. This can make In Indianapolis, for example, the more efficient and effective drug law even simple telephone'contact difficult. prosecutor has funded a computer enforcement strategy. " The problems created by the coopera- message system that allows attorneys tion gap may surface in many ways. In in his office to transmit notes, case an extreme example, to circumvent a dispositions, and subpoenas directly to John Buchanan is a lieutenant in the Phoenix Police Department. This article negative police-prosecutor relationship, police officers at their work locations~ was prepared while he was a Visiting Fellow police officers may engineer a case In Alameda County, California, and at the National Institute of Justice between so that an arrest is made in another Montgomery County, Maryland, "street January 1988 and January 1989. jurisdiction. It is only then, these jump" narcotics officers and prosecu- r4 Pofice-Prosecutor Teams: Innovations in Several Jurisdictions

tors consult frequently both in person BIDE investigators and prosecutors case investigation translate into better and over the telephone to build cases communicate closely, discussing courtroom performance." that meet the requirements of the search development of ongoing cases and and seizure law. In Seattle, sex crime drawing up plans for new cases. A Browder cites search and seizure issues investigators and prosecutors interview prosecutor is informed of a new case as an example. As prosecutors work child victims together so they can better as soon as possible, and through vertical closely with investigators, they come to understand the case and make decisions prosecution (one prosecutor responsible understand that officers must frequently that will lead to success in court. for the case from filing through appeal) make quick decisions based on very is able to develop a continuous relation- limited information. Prosecutors are thus A few agencies, however, have gone ship with the investigating agents. "better able to argue the legal principles further. They have institutionalized as they apply to the good faith exception teamwork and made communication The agents benefit from this close to the search warrant rule," Browder between investigators and prosecutors relationship with prosecutors. Says says. "That has been an area where a top priority. BIDE Agent Supervisor Dan Ross, "We prosecutors are sometimes weak." have had to change some of our ideas Maine develops joint unit because the attorney's perspective is that of the courtroom. Officers may not Multnomah County, Traditionally, trial tactics are not be concerned with how things appear in Oregon, task force seeks considered by a prosecutor until after court because they tend to concentrate drug convictions charges are filed and much of the on just the facts. But the attorney has to Cooperative efforts to concentrate on investigation has been done. However, care because appearances in court are so through a process that First Assistant important in getting a conviction." convictions are going forward in Oregon U.S. Attorney for Maine John Gleason as well. In Multnomah County, the labels "cross pollination," Maine A typical case will illustrate this Organized Crime/Narcotics Task Force prosecutors and officers focus on tactics difference in perspective. To obtain has brought together 12 investigators to prove guilt from the beginning. "It's evidence, investigators must sometimes from several area agencies and two not an investigation and then a trial; it's use informants or a suspect's criminal prosecutors from Multnomah County. a unitary process, a case throughout," associates. However, the prosecution District Attorney Michael Schrunk he says. may be reluctant to call these people obtained the funding for the unit and as witnesses because they make poor persuaded other law enforcement This approach is carried out by Maine's impressions in court. Although their agencies to contribute investigators. Bureau of Intergovernmenta! Drug testimony may be quite persuasive to Enforcement (BIDE), in operation since The task force was created in February the officer who has verified the infor- March 1988. It is staffed by 40 agents 1988 to take on major narcotics organi- mation through his own investigation, working with 8 attorneys, and there are zations and seize traffickers' assets. the prosecutor may believe that such a plans to expand every year through While traditional narcotics enforcement witness will give the jury a negative 1992. impression of the government's case. units still operate in the county, task force offices house investigators and The new unit's operation grew out of a prosecutors at a site several miles from 2-year test program implemented by the In other words, a witness who helps both police and prosecutor facilities. current U.S. Attorney for the District prove guilt from the investigator's This arrangement reinforces the idea of Maine, Richard S. Cohen. The task perspective may in fact impede success- that all members of the unit are part force units of the test program built ful prosecution. To avoid calling such of the team and that cooperation is the such an impressive record of successful a witness, the prosecutor will ask the goal. There is day-to-day, informal prosecutions that local, State, and investigator to gather additional contact between the investigators and Federal law enforcement officials evidence. One positive consequence is the prosecutors about the progress of recommended that the concept be that the investigator's perspective is pending cases. expanded. The result was the Maine now broader and takes account of the statute that created BIDE as part of the investigation's impact on the ultimate outcome of the case. The prosecutors act as consultants to the Maine Department of Public Safety, police during the investigative phase. integrating investigation and prosecu- The prosecutor also benefits from Investigators can get answers to difficult tion of narcotics offenses. working with the investigator. Assistant legal questions in a few minutes just by U.S. Attorney William Browder notes, "The insights that I have gained into walking down the hall. The legal Department and the New York County homicide unit because he felt the unit opinion comes not from an attorney District Attorney's Office operate one had the investigative and prosecutorial who happens to have liaison duty that unit that investigates and prosecutes resources needed to obtain a convic- day but from the attorney who will take narcotics gang-related homicides, and tion. the case to trial. This arrangement another unit that deals with gang crime "allows case strategy to be constructed among Asian groups. The homicide unit arranged for an so that we have the most advantage undercover officer to pose as an possible in court," explains Detective Homicide Investigation Unit. This insurance executive so that a lengthy Jeremy Pritchard, unit member and unit has existed since 1984 and until statement could be surreptitiously Multnomah County Sheriff's Deputy. recently was staffed by four investiga- recorded from the suspect. The record- tors (two from the district attorney's ing revealed conflicting details in the Thus decisions about which cases to office and two from the police depart- suspect's story and was instrumental pursue are made early in the investiga- ment), two prosecutors, and support in his conviction for both murders. tion. Unit members agree it is unlikely personnel. In 1988, four investigators In 1987, he was sentenced to 59 years that a case not meeting the filing criteria (one from the district attorney's office to life. would be selected by the team. As a and three from the police department) result, detectives do not work on cases and one prosecutor were added to the Both prosecutor and investigators had that have little chance of being filed, unit to help deal with a growing number used their expertise to build a case that and prosecutors do not spend time of homicides related to drugs and gangs. investigators considered feagible and reviewing and then returning to police Investigators and prosecutors work in attorneys considered presentable in cases that do not meet charging criteria. the same office and communicate every court. Unit prosecutor Bill Hoyt cites day about the progress of pending cases. this as a good example of how joint Prosecutors benefit in other ways from "ownership" of cases makes it possible the close relationship with investigators. The unit's reputation for effective for "investigative and prosecution Up-to-date, indepth information from a prosecution has spread, and precinct strategy to work together." knowledgeable detective can help the detectives sometimes bring especially prosecutor's case. For example, the difficult or serious cases to the team for Of the 24 murder convictions the unit complexion of a minor case can change followup and prosecution, even though has succeeded in bringing about since substantially when an investigator tells the case may not be within the unit's its inception, probably fewer than 5 the prosecutor that the suspect has an normal responsibilities. would have been obtained without the extensive narcotics background. Such team approach. information is not normally included Such an incident occurred in 1985 when Oriental Gang Unit. This unit has in the case file that is passed from the a detective in New York's 28th precinct been in formal operation since 1981 police to the prosecutor when charges was assigned to a death investigation. and includes five New York City are requested. The victim was an 8-year-old girl who had died from an overdose of Police Department detectives and six In addition, police input during plea a prescription drug. Her father was New York County prosecutors who bargain discussions is "invaluable" present when she died but denied any maintain offices in the county court to prosecutors considering offers of involvement. The investigator began to building. Like the homicide unit, the cooperation from suspects or making probe the circumstances and discovered gang squad has been successful in recommendations for jail time or other that the father had been investigated but obtaining convictions in very difficult penalties, according to Multnomah never charged in the 1984 death of his cases. "We have been successful in County Assistant District Attorney 10-month-old stepdaughter. Further doing things that have never been done Alexander Gordon. investigation revealed that he had before," says Detective Sergeant Jim obtained insurance on both victims McVeety. shortly before they died. New York City's target: McVeety describes a 1982 Chinatown gang crime The detective recognized that the case in which a 21-year-old woman suspect was probably guilty of two Was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and Police-prosecutor cooperation in New child killings in a scheme to collect murdered. Information from an infor- York City has helped in combating insurance money, but he also realized mant led the unit to center its investi- gang crime. The New York Police that there was little direct evidence. gation on a particular gang. The unit, Proving the case would be difficult. The detective brought the case to the Police-Prosecutor Teams: Innovations M Several Jurisdictions

interviewed for this article recom- Perspective," Chapter Nine, Empirical process of investigation and prosecu- mended that the team idea be applied to Theories About Courts, Boyum, Keith tion. other kinds of criminal investigations O., and Mather, Lynn, eds. Longman beyond those discussed in this study. Inc., New York. 1983, pp. 229-232. 8. Goldstein, Herman. Policing a Free Stanko, Elizabeth A. "The Arrest Versus Society, Cambridge, Massachusetts.- Police-prosecutor teams are a creative the Case," Urban Life, Vol. 9, No. 4. Ballinger Publishing Co. 1977, p. 24. response to the challenges facing law January 1981, pp. 295-414. enforcement. They offer the hope that 9. McClees, Hugh C., Decker, Andrew by joining forces, police and prosecu- 3. Feeney, Floyd. Case Processing and J., and Carpenter, Daniel J. Managing tors can be more effective in bringing Police-Prosecutor Coordination, Center Arson Control Systems: A Study of criminals to justice. Further study of on Administration of Criminal Justice, Arson and Anti-Arson Efforts in a this approach will help many jurisdic- University of California, Davis. 1981, Selected Sample of Jurisdictions, tions as they search for promising, Chapter 25, pp. 4-6. Forst, Brian. prepared for the National Institute of innovative ways to reduce crime. NIJ Improving Police-Prosecutor Coordina- Justice, Washington,\D.C. November tion: A Research Agenda, Institute for 1982, Section 4-89. Law and Social Research, Washington, Notes D.C. 1981, pp. 1-3. Points of view or opinions expressed in this 1. National Commission on Law 4. Jacoby, Joan E. Working Paper on publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official Observance and Enforcement. Report Police-Prosecutor Relations, prepared No. 4, Prosecution, Washington, D.C. position or policies of the U.S. Department for the National Institute of Justice. of Justice. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931. November 1981, p. 6. Montclair, New Jersey. Reprint by Patterson Smith. 1968, p. 17. 5. Feeley et al., pp. 222-223. The Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, coordinates the 2. For examples, see: Davis, Carolyn, 6. McDonald, William F. Police- activities of the following program Offices and Mathless, Paul, eds. Managing Prosecutor Relations in the United and Bureaus: National Institute of Justice, Criminal Investigation Manual, States, Executive Summary, Washing- Bureau of Justice Statistics, Bureau of University Research Corporation, ton, D.C., National Institute of Justice. Justice Assistance, Office of Juvenile Washington, D.C. 1976, pp. 167-170. July 1982, pp. 8-10. Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Feeley, Malcolm M., and Lazerson, and Office for Victims of Crime. Mark H. "Police-Prosecutor Rela- 7. Based on interviews with defense tionships: An Interorganizational attorneys who are familiar with the NCJ 120288

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LIBRARY attorneys should make the prosecution While the ,task force approach to law investigators work with the same decisions. enforcement is not new, the programs prosecutors, and vertical prosecution discussed here have some distinguish- is the general rule. The removal of barriers to close ing features. They do not go out of working relationships has made Commitment to cooperation by law existence when one crime is solved or possible a blend of police and prosecu- enforcement executives and individual one group of criminals is convicted. officers and prosecutors has.yielded tion skills in the pursuit of the same The police and the prosecutor work goals--making strong cases and some impressive beginnings. And, in physical proximity and have daily significantly, many unit members convicting criminals. access to one another. The same

Figure 1. Characteristics of Police-Prosecutor Teams

* Some cases are referred by other units after some investigation has already taken place. ** Bureau of Justice Assistance grants Pofice-Prosecutor Teams: Innovations In Several Jurisdictions

!ncluding a prosecutor, put together a New York City units has not been In Laconia, police decisions on the case plan. measured, and the unit's handpicked street reflect officers' knowledge of membership and smaller caseloads filing criteria and previous dispositions. Since Oriental gangs are difficult to make comparison with regular investi- These informed decisions leave fewer penetrate and notorious for intimidating gative units difficult. However, mem- legal loopholes in DWI, disorderly witnesses, members of the police- bers of both units agree that their conduct, theft, and assault cases. prosecutor unit decided together on teamwork has been a major factor in a strategy that would make the best their ability to convict dangerous The police chief sees additional bene- possible use of the informant. They criminals. The recent decision by the fits. "The department is not currently the arranged to surreptitiously tape his New York County District Attorney's defendant in any lawsuits," says Chief conversations with suspects; the taping Office and the New York Police Cheney. "I think this can be partially took place on 25 occasions. "We knew Department to expand the Homicide attributed to the constant contact we were on solid (legal) ground in Investigation Unit indicates that between officers and the prosecutor. doing this," said McVeety, "because policymakers are also convinced of A higher degree of legal awareness the prosecutor was in on the plan." the value of police-prosecutor teams. has developed and it is reflected in the The prosecutor attended many of the officers' actions on the street." sessions in which the police debriefed the informant after his contacts with Laconia, New Hampshire, The Laconia police say many order suspects. maintenance problems at the neighbor- cooperation extends to hood level have been solved because of All seven gang defendants either pied misdemeanor cases guil~ty or were convicted. Sentences the close police-prosecutor relationship. ranged from a minimum of 8 years to In Laconia, New Hampshire, police- For instance, in a recent case, police 25 years to life based on each defen- prosecutor cooperation is testing officers were confronted with a chronic dant's degree of involvement in the whether law enforcement can apply noise ordinance violator who was the crime. this approach to misdemeanors--to source of many citizen complaints. order-maintenance problems that rarely Police and prosecutor together devel- Cases involving gangs often require the receive publicity but account for the oped a plan to obtain a search warrant cooperation of people who do not want largest expenditure of police resources. 8 and seize the offending stereo as evi- to testify. Witnesses may fear reprisal, dence, if necessary. Armed with the but in an extreme case an attorney may Laconia police are committed to knowledge that the prosecutor would encourage testimony by invoking the applying the police-prosecutor concept support this lawful, if somewhat unusual power to hold material witnesses in to just such problem's. Laconia has action, the police convinced the violator custody. Since gang unit detectives adopted a variation of the practice that a stereo at lower volume was better have immediate access to prosecutors common in some New England States than no stereo at all. who are familiar with unit cases, such whereby police officers perform as arrangements for cooperation--as well prosecutors in misdemeanor cases. Cooperation reduces conflict as plea bargaining--may take place on In Laconia, an attorney with an office the spot. in the police department prosecutes A recent study of arson investigation in Thus'prosecutor involvement in the all misdemeanor arrests. Under the several cities found that the city with the Oriental Gang Unit makes itpossible program, developed by Police Chief closest working relationship between for the initiative and momentum so Bruce Cheney, the 35-officer depart- investigators and prosecutors exhibited vital in such cases not to be dissipated ment has had its own prosecutor since high arrest and conviction rates when by tracking down a prosecutor who 1977. compared to other cities in the sample. understands Oriental gangs and who The city with the least investigator, Officers consult with the prosecutor also has the authority to plea bargain prosecutor communication had the about filing criteria and investigative and grant immunity. "Teamwork is very lowest conviction rate. 9 practices, and the prosecutor provides important because of complex issues timely information on case dispositions. In Laconia and in the other locations relating to reluctant witnesses," says This information is not filtered through cited, police and prosecutors have not New York County Assistant District several layers of administration, a always agreed, but occasional disagree- Attorney Nancy Ryan. liaison person, or a legal adviser. It ment has not affected the long-term The exact degree to which improved comes directly from the attorney relationship. Indeed, a clear understand- police-prosecutor cooperation has responsible for the prosecution of the ing has emerged that the police should contributed to the success of the two case, often in an informal manner. make the investigation decisions and the