Innovations Blog

St. Paul City Attorney’s Office (St. Paul, MN)

Population: 305,877 | Contact Information

The St. Paul City Attorney’s Office (SPCAO) created the “Gone on Arrival (GOA) Project” to address threat issues in domestic violence cases when the offender is not at the crime scene when law enforcement arrives.

Over half of the domestic violence cases referred to the St. Paul City Attorney’s Office (SPCAO) involve abusers who flee the crime scene prior to police arrival.  These offenders are often more dangerous and pose a greater threat to victim safety than arrested suspects, yet GOA cases were rarely reviewed and charged with the same urgency as cases in which the offender was arrested at the scene. 

The PCAO  is employing an inter-agency approach by hiring one designated prosecutor and one system advocate to work directly with the St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) and victims. The Office is also creating a GOA Project Policies and Procedures Manual and is working with SPPD to create training curricula for law enforcement responding to domestic calls.

SPCAO is also building on its existing case management technology provided by Prosecutor by Karpel (PBK) for gathering and analyzing crime data and incorporating risk information directly into PBK’s Court Face Sheet. This innovative technology will enable prosecutors to make informed decisions and more persuasive arguments for bail, protective orders, plea negotiations, and sentencing