Lawmakers hope that higher salaries and better tools will help local and state law enforcement agencies take a bite out of crime.
Governor Brian Kemp’s proposed $37.5 billion spending plan includes $3,000 raises for state law enforcement, $500 million for a state employee pension fund, funding for a Georgia Bureau of Investigation gang task force in Columbus, funding for 21 crime lab positions at the GBI, and funding for two Georgia State Patrol posts. GBI Director Chris Hosey said the Columbus task force could help them identify gang members and gang activity. There are two already in metro Atlanta and Macon.
“We’ve got to identify what’s going on – is there a criminal violation, who’s responsible for it, and then the resources that we need to pursue that and bring them to justice,” Hosey said.
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Criminal Defenses and Police Officer Turnover
Higher salaries could help reduce the high turnover rates that plague many law enforcement agencies. However, money cannot fix other problems, such as prestige. In the 1990s, most people held police officers in high regard. Cops got free pancakes at Denny’s. Today, that’s no longer the case, and cops pay for their own Denny’s pancakes. High turnover and low prestige directly affect the way a Marietta criminal defense lawyer handles a case.
Turnover often creates evidence issues at trial, particularly in delayed traffic ticket matters. Frequently, a driver gets a speeding ticket, misses a court-imposed traffic school deadline, and the judge issues a bench warrant. That warrant might sit on the computer for months, years, or decades before officers serve it.
By that time, the arresting officer, who is the state’s only witness, has left the force and probably left the county or state. At that point, unless prosecutors can find a loophole, they must dismiss the case.
Furthermore, lack of prestige affects police officer testimony. In February 2023, the police officer approval rate had plummeted to 38 percent. That’s roughly ten points below the previous low, which was recorded shortly after George Floyd’s death in 2020.
This abysmal number means that jurors no longer give police officers the benefit of the doubt. In fact, in means the opposite, and many jurors view police officers suspiciously. So, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer doesn’t have to undermine the witness’ testimony during cross-examination. The witness has little credibility with jurors to begin with.
The arresting officer is usually the state’s primary, or only, witness in a criminal case. Therefore, lack of credibility is a fatal weakness.
Many prosecutors are anxious to make favorable deals in these cases. They’d like to convict the defendant of a reduced offense (e.g. simple assault instead of aggravated assault) if the alternative is watching the defendant walk free.
Police Officer Burnout
High turnover also affects remaining officers. Frequently, inexperienced officers must pull double or triple duty.
Inexperienced officers often make mistakes. One mistake we see frequently is cart-before-the-horse reasonable suspicion stops.
Although the Supreme Court has diluted this principle in recent years, the basic rule remains. Officers may only detain suspects if they reasonably suspect criminal activity, at least in most cases. Reasonable suspicion is an evidence-based hunch, as opposed to an evidence-verified hunch.
If Officer Alice saw Eric stagger drunkenly down the sidewalk, she had reasonable suspicion to detain him for public intoxication. If he carried an illegal weapon or had an outstanding warrant, she could arrest him for that as well. If Officer Alice saw Eric turn and walk the other way when she approached, she didn’t have reasonable suspicion to detain him, even if she found evidence of a crime, like an illegal weapon, later.
Stressed-out police officers, like stressed-out warehouse workers or Marietta criminal defense lawyers, sometimes lose their cool. Roughly handling a suspect is not a legal defense and usually not a civil rights violation, unless the injury was more than de minims (e.g. bruised hands from tight handcuffs).
However, when police officers stray too close to the line, jurors often view these officers with disdain. That’s especially true since their credibility is often shaky to begin with, as outlined above.
Crime Lab Issues
Poor quality facilities usually produce poor results. Since the burden of proof is so high in criminal cases (beyond a reasonable doubt), poor results won’t cut it.
Much like police officer testimony, scientific criminal evidence often isn’t very reliable to begin with. On CSI episodes, tire tracks, blood stains, and clothing fibers help investigators catch bad guys. The real world is different. Such evidence often helps investigators obtain leverage over suspects (we know it was you because we found fibers in your car), but this evidence usually doesn’t hold up in court.
Low-quality tools produce low-quality results. Scientific technology is advancing so quickly that yesterday’s cutting-edge technology is today’s garage sale item.
Low-quality employees affect criminal cases as well. When they examine DUI blood samples or other such evidence, crime lab technicians often find what they want to find. A defense expert, who’s usually a degreed professional as opposed to a police technician, often obtains much different results.
Alternative Funding Sources
Almost everyone dislikes high crime and high taxes. But, in most cases, you can’t have one without the other. So, a few lawmakers have floated ideas for alternative funding sources, including crowdfunding. If you complain about high crime rates, put your money where your mouth is.
Civil forfeiture, which many people criticize as policing for profit, is a much more common alternative funding source. Under Georgia law, officers may seize any property used during commission of a crime or bought with proceeds from a crime. That could include a car in a DUI or s bank account that contains a few dollars of laundered money.
Since forfeiture is a civil proceeding, the burden of proof is only a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). As a result, these matters are difficult to successfully resolve.
Police funding issues often affect court cases. For a free consultation with an experienced Marietta criminal defense lawyer, contact The Phillips Law Firm, LLC. We routinely handle matters in Cobb County and nearby jurisdictions.
