Emergency Preparedness

Are You Prepared?

Disaster has hit prosecutors’ offices in a variety of ways: flooding (East Baton Rouge, Houston), hurricanes (New Orleans, Miami), fire (Missouri; New Jersey) and terrorism (New York). Even less destructive forces, like a snow storm, can impede a prosecutor’s office ability to function. Planning in advance of an emergency is critical for the safety of employees and for assuring that essential work can continue. Here are three areas for consideration:

Author(s): Kristine Hamann, Rebecca Rader Brown

In May 2013, a Colorado man fails to show up to work. Concerned, the man’s boss visits his house, where the man’s roommate refuses to let the boss enter. The boss contacts the police, who launch a missing person investigation. Using cell tower technology, police are able to approximate the missing man’s location in the hours leading up to his disappearance.

Office of the Worcester County District Attorney (Middle District Attorney) (Worcester, MA)

Population: 830,000 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 88 | Contact Information

The Middle District Attorney’s Office has established the Worcester County Overdose Death Response Initiative funded by an Innovative Prosecution Solutions (IPS) grant, modeled after a similar initiative in Richmond County, New York, to investigate all fatal opioid overdoses as potential homicides. Researchers at Fitchburg State University are conducting data analysis, which will help the team develop geographic investigation and prosecution strategies.

Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office (Milwaukee, WI)

Population: 600,000 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 120 | Contact Information

With assistance from an Innovative Prosecution Solutions (IPS) grant, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office has hired an Opioid Community Prosecutor to improve opioid trafficking and death investigations and connect overdose victims with needed services. This special prosecutor works closely with the West Allis Police Department Drug Unit and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to build cases and identify people who need treatment for addiction.

Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office (Memphis, TN)

Population: 935,760 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 112 | Contact Information

Through an Innovative Prosecution Solutions initiative, the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office and its partners at the Memphis Police Department and the University of Memphis are working together to investigate fatal and nonfatal opiate overdoses through use of mobile Cellebrite technology known as UFED InField. This enables detectives to extract data from overdose victims’ cell phones at the scene, expediting identification of the victim’s supplier.

Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office (Detroit, MI)

Population: 1,793,561 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 180 | Contact Information

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office (WCPO) is working to prevent opioid-related overdose deaths by utilizing data science to locate and prioritize hotspots of overlapping opioid-related activity and violent crime, eliminating the threshold for case referrals to WCPO’s drug unit, and employing a one-person grand jury to streamline investigations of opioid-related overdose cases.

Covington County District Attorney’s Office (Andalusia, AL)

Population: 37,570 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 3 | Contact Information

The Covington County District Attorney’s Office (CCDA) has created an Opioid Abuse & Prevention Task Force, which includes paramedics, law enforcement, an administrator, a training coordinator, an investigator, and a prosecutor.

Clare County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (Harrison, MI)

Population: 30,856 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 5 | Contact Information

The Clare County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (CCPA) has created a multiagency counterdrug task force including: medical personnel, pharmacists, probation and parole representatives, substance abuse counselors, and other law enforcement members who meet regularly to review current opioid related case investigations and plan future investigations based on gathered intelligence.

Easton Baton Rouge Office of the District Attorney (Baton Rouge, LA)

Population: 440,059 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 54 | Contact Information

The East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office (EBRDA) aims to disrupt the market for opioids by targeting high-profile drug dealers. With Innovative Prosecution Solutions (IPS) funding, a multi-disciplinary team consisting of representatives from EBRDA, the Baton Rouge Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Louisiana National Guard, and others collect and analyze a robust dataset pertaining to opioid prescriptions, overdoses, Narcan distributions, opioid-related arrests, and other relevant data.

Marion County Prosecutor’s Office (Indianapolis, IN)

Population: 954,670 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 160 | Contact Information

To combat gun related crime, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) used a grant from Innovative Prosecution Solutions (IPS) to provide prosecutors with key intelligence about the firearms used and any associated violent crime drivers.