PCE Publications

Author(s): Kristine Hamann, PCE

As police departments across the United States embrace the use of police body-worn cameras (“BWCs”), it is imperative that prosecutors be involved in the uptake process as early as possible. The cameras will inevitably capture a great deal of evidentiary material that will be used in every type of criminal prosecution. Thus, systems and policies must be developed to ensure that this evidence is properly captured and delivered to the prosecutor in a timely and usable way.

Author(s): Kristine Hamann, PCE

Prosecutors are obligated to provide timely and complete discovery, particularly with regard to exculpatory and impeachment material. The discovery process can be complex and time consuming. Failure to properly record discovery documents provided to the defense can jeopardize cases and put prosecutors at risk of being charged with ethical violations.

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.

As police departments across the United States embrace the use of police body-worn cameras, it is imperative that prosecutors be involved in the process as early as possible. The cameras will inevitably capture a great deal of evidentiary material that will be used in every type of criminal prosecution. Thus, systems and policies must be developed to ensure that this evidence is properly captured and delivered to the prosecutor in a timely and usable way, and that prosecutors have the resources to view, store and redact the recordings.

Authors: PCE and National Black Prosecutors Association

As we know, prosecutors must be fact-based and fair in the pursuit of justice. Prosecutors cannot base their judgements on whim, bias or hunches. Studies have shown that all people have implicit biases that could influence their decisions. Training can help prosecutors to understand this issue and provide strategies for assuring that prosecutorial decisions are based on the facts and not predisposed by irrelevant implicit biases.

Author(s): Bradley Altvater, PCE

Criminals are increasingly using shadowy corners of the internet to mask their identities and conduct illicit activities. Marketplaces on the “dark web” facilitate a range of criminal activities, including human trafficking and the distribution of child pornography. However, law enforcement and prosecutors are not helpless in the fight against these new criminal tactics.

Author(s): Kristine Hamann, Rebecca Rader Brown

A prosecutor’s core mission is and has always been to promote justice and to protect the community by ensuring public safety. Over the past 30 years, the way prosecutors approach this mission has evolved. In place of the old, reactive criminal justice model, prosecutors and police are using new methods and evidence to take a proactive, broader approach to preventing, investigating, and prosecuting crime.

Author(s): PCE

Witness intimidation and witness tampering can occur in any case, from simple misdemeanors to homicides. It has a variety of consequences from the silencing of an entire community, to the murder of a witness, to the recantation of truthful testimony. Though witness intimidation is an insidious problem, there are strategies throughout the investigation and prosecution of a case that can help to keep a witness safe and reduce the impact of intimidation.

Author(s): Hamann, Greenberg-Chao

Prosecutors have a core mission to protect the community and ensure justice when enforcing the law. Traditionally, a prosecutor’s role was a limited and relatively passive one – to evaluate and prosecute arrests made by the police But over the last forty years, there has been a dramatic transformation and expansion of prosecutors’ mission, to not only vigorously prosecute criminal cases, but also to engage in crime prevention, problem solving and community partnerships.

Author(s): PCE, CDAA

Digital evidence includes evidence retrieved from cell phones, computers, surveillance cameras, and social media sites. PCE can provide information on how digital evidence is captured, preserved and authenticated for use in court, as well as information to assist prosecutors with addressing emerging issues, such as police worn cameras.