MARICOPA COUNTY JUSTICE SYSTEM ACTIVITIES REPORT FISCAL YEAR 1998-1999 ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES REPORT Maricopa County Superior Court Welcome to the second annual Activities Report for the justice and law enforcement entities of Maricopa County. The report format has been modified from calendar to fiscal year coverage, currently reflecting 1998-1999 data. Total Case Filings by Department January - December 1998 Civil 29.9% Tax Court 1.2% Juvenile 14.2% Probate/ Mental Health 6.6% Criminal 21.4% CLERK OF THE COURT Domestic Relations 26.7% NEW CASES INITIATED Court Department 1996 Civil 28,880 31,158 +8 34,621 +11 Criminal 19,203 21,207 +10 24,708 +17 Domestic Relations 30,097 31,050 +3 30,882 -.01 Probate/Mental Health Juvenile Tax Court Totals* 1997 Dave Forde %CH 1998 %C H 7,871 7,877 +.01 7,630 -3 18,094 18,610 +3 16,485 -11 2,934 1,893 -35 1,352 -29 107,079 111,795 +4 115,678 +3 *Above totals do not include filings for subsequent proceedings which occur in the case number, i.e., post judgment debtor examinations, post conviction relief filings, domestic relations modification/enforcement or probate annual and other periodic orders. Note: Superior Court data is reported by calendar year. CORRECTIONAL HEALTH Kirstin Wolfe Civil Domestic Relations Criminal Probate and Mental Health Appeals Filed FY98 33,784 33,728 25,135 6,703 1,274 FY99 %CHG 32,280 -4% 32,839 -3% 25,395 +1% 6,693 -1% 1,251 -2% SUBSEQUENT CASE DOCUMENTS Civil Domestic Relations Criminal Probate and Mental Health 461,433 589,187 506,864 109,952 408,790 -11% 510,293 -13% 495,144 -2% 92,588 -16% JUVENILE PETITIONS Delinquency Dependency Adoption Severance Adoption Certificates 15,209 1,326 710 609 693 13,577 -11% 1,199 -10% 962 +35% 568 -7% 748 +8% OTHER WORKLOAD INDICATORS ENCOUNTERS FY98 FY99 Medical Requests 78,921 84,360 +7% Medical 42,310 43,563 +3% Nursing 145,611 128,695 -12% Psychiatry 10,522 11,763 +12% Counseling 11,603 11,195 -4% 4,756 5,296 +11% 127,550 124,550 -2% 4,731 4,723 -.01% Dental Prescriptions X-rays Maricopa County Justice System Activities Report %CHANGE # of Marriage Licenses Issued 13,908 13,113 # of Passports Issued 31,854 31,480 # of Notary Bonds Apps Processed 12,177 12,810 # of Documents Docketed 1,870,746 1,769,870 -6% -1% +5% –5% DID YOU KNOW? # of Images Microfilmed 5,656,387 7,432,239 # of Exhibits Processed 84,153 94,521 # of Minute Entries Distributed 4,860,963 4,554,234 # and $ Amount of Restitutions, 52,289 28,035 Fines and Reimbursements Payments Processed $6,877,085 $11,522,615 +31% +12% -6% -46% +68% Fiscal Year 1998 - 1999 ACTIVITIES REPORT SHERIFF’S OFFICE 2 Linda Christophel COUNTY ATTORNEY JULY 1, 1998 – JUNE 30, 1999 Carol McFadden A d u lt C a s e F ilin g s 2 ,9 0 0 Bookings: Local Police Agencies Federal Agencies County Agencies Ariz. State Agencies All Other Self Surrenders: City Court Justice Court Superior Court Total % of Total Total 2 ,7 0 0 81% 2% 5% 0% 0% 13% 94,378 1,772 5,522 229 7 15,029 2 ,3 0 0 2 ,5 0 0 2 ,1 0 0 1 ,9 0 0 1 ,7 0 0 1 ,5 0 0 Jul 73% 20% 7% 0% 116,937 4,957 1,307 480 26 6,770 Total Bonds/Fines Processed Total Canteen Sales Total # Meals Served # of Warrants Received # Civil Process Received # Subpoenas Served # Tax Bills Collected $ Tax Bills Collected Domestic Violence Orders Received Total # Posse Members Total # Reserve Officers Maricopa County Justice System Activities Report F Y 9 8 -9 9 Jul D ec Jun M o n th s F Y 9 7 -9 8 F Y 9 8 -9 9 During fiscal year 1998–99, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office saw a slight reduction in case filings. 7,134 7,202 • While the overall filing of felony offenses slightly declined (1.3%), the number of Superior Court trials increased 5% over fiscal year 1997-98 and 45% over fiscal year 1996-97. 21.0 Days 21.5 Days • The number of juvenile petitions filed decreased by nearly 11%. Total Prisoners Transported: Superior Court Justice Courts Interfacility Total M ay 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 Average Length of Stay: FY 1997-98 FY 1998-99 M ar J u v e n il e P e t it io n s F il e d Inmate Population High Count: FY 1997-98: October 4, 1997 FY 1998-99: August 29, 1998 Jan F Y 9 7 -9 8 Average Daily Inmate Population by Category: Felony Misdemeanor Agency Hold Misc. Total N ov M o n th s 10,407 2,296 2,326 100% S ep 70,286 19,607 410,694 500,587 $8,580,515 $2,590,589 9,101,543 13,035 42,938 21,884 17,546 $10,823,123 12,453 3,670 214 During the 1998-99 fiscal year, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office was involved in a number of local, state, and national projects. • The office addressed Year 2000 computer issues by designing and implementing a new victim notification system to enhance our ability to provide over 500,000 notices to victims each year (July 1998), and a new case management system to improve our ability to track and manage felony cases (June 1999). • The office collaborated with the Superior Court to address the delay in criminal case processing. This included expanding the Expedited Disposition Court (Fall 1998), developing the Quad A pilot project (January 1999), and reorganizing the Criminal Division of the Court (May 1999). • The office collaborated with the Juvenile Probation Department to develop a drug intervention program for juveniles with identified substance abuse problems. This pilot program will be the precursor of a drug diversion program the Office hopes to initiate in fiscal year 1999-00. This program will provide juvenile first offenders referred for the possession of illegal drugs or alcohol the opportunity to avoid prosecution if they and their parents successfully complete a drug intervention program. Fiscal Year 1998 - 1999 ACTIVITIES REPORT ADULT PROBATION 3 Mark Hendershot COLLECTIONS UPDATE The Adult Probation Department continues to improve the enforcement of court ordered financial sanctions. Developments include a monthly education program and tools to develop and hone enforcement skills for field officers in establishing compliance with court ordered financial sanctions. In 1998, the Adult Probation Department increased the payment of restitution to victims by 47% and Probation Service Fees by 30% over the previous year. In 1999, the department has continued to develop measures and programs to enforce all financial orders of the court and ensure that victims receive full restitution as ordered. JUSTICE COURTS HIGHLIGHTS There was an increase of almost 4,000 forcible detainer filings between FY 1997-98 and FY 1998-99. The largest percentage change between the two fiscal years is the reduction in the number of felony filings. This possibly could be attributed to the County Attorney filing cases in the Expedited Drug Court instead of the Justice Courts. • The Board of Supervisors created two new justice court precincts—West Tempe and North Valley, effective January 1, 1999. There are now 23 justice courts located in Maricopa County. • With the 1998 election and creation of the new precincts, seven new judges assumed the bench in January. They are: C. Steven McMurry, Central Phoenix; John Carpenter, East Phoenix #1; Kenneth Warren, North Valley; Mark Dobronski, Scottsdale; Victor “Mike” Wilkins, West Tempe; Rachel Carrillo, West Phoenix; and John Henry, Wickenburg. • During FY 1998-99, Justice Courts Administration changed its name to Justice Courts Services to better reflect the mission of providing the most efficient, accurate, and timely services to the citizens of Maricopa County, all the Justices of the Peace, Justice Courts court staff and other outside government agencies. • Justice Courts received funding from the Board of Supervisors to increase its video arraignment capabilities for in-custody defendants. During FY 1998-99, Justice Courts staff and staff from other Maricopa County departments developed a plan to increase video access to six more Justice Courts. • Work began on developing a Justice Courts web page. It is anticipated that this web page will be on-line during the Spring of 2000. Also, several courts received new computers in line with plans for all Justice Courts to have computer access by the end of FY 1999-00. Restitution and PSF Collection Comparison Calander Years 1997/1998 $7,000,000 $6,000,000 $5,000,000 $4,000,000 $3,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,000,000 $0 1997 Restitution 1998 Probation Service Fees EARLY DISPOSITION COURT IMPACTS PRESENTENCE DIVISION The Presentence Division has experienced a decrease in total cases due to the increased use of the Early Disposition Court to process cases. Comparing the first six months of 1999 with the same period in 1998, the division experienced a decrease of 13% in presentence reports prepared. Barbara Lasater COMPARISON OF CASE FILINGS* Im p a c t o f E a rly D is p o s itio n C o u rt Civil Small Claims Forcible Detainer Felony Misdemeanor Criminal Traffic Civil Traffic Domestic Violence Harassment 8000 Dispositions 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 J A N -J U N 9 8 EDC J A N -J U N 9 9 PSI Maricopa County Justice System Activities Report TOTAL FY98 17,502 18,555 51,473 21,789 21,294 25,258 152,083 5,642 5,196 FY99 17,733 18,080 55,059 18,807 21,589 24,878 145,025 5,412 5,190 318,792 311,773 %CHG 1% -3% 7% -14% 1% -2% -5% -4% 0% -2% *Numbers are unaudited actuals Fiscal Year 1998 - 1999 ACTIVITIES REPORT JUVENILE COURT 4 Gary Graham DETENTION EXPANSION OTHER INITIATIVES Significant advancements have been made with alternatives to detention. The highly successful Juvenile Drug Court pilot project has been extended with the procurement of a federal grant. The Juvenile Court and Probation Department have collaborated and now operate three separate post-disposition Drug Courts with plans for a diversionbased program in the coming year. Other alternative programs include a federal grant funded electronic monitoring program, expansion of a home detention program, and various state funded placement options. PETITIONS FILED WITH JUVENILE COURT The following reflects the number of petitions filed in the Juvenile Court from July 1, 1998 – June 30, 1999: 13,863 1,171 546 971 16,551 Juvenile Detention Information – July 1, 1998-June 30, 1999 July August September October November December January February March April May June TOTAL Screenings 1,024 919 960 999 884 884 936 837 924 935 940 808 11,050 Maricopa County Justice System Activities Report Diane Terribile ADJUSTED GROSS ASSIGNMENTS With supplemental funding provided by county and state entities, the final plans for constructing and adding 80 new beds at the Durango Detention Facility were approved. Completion and occupancy are projected for late summer of 1999. While this addition will help ease current overcrowding, planning for future detention needs still continues with voter approval of Proposition 400. The current plans call for the construction of 220 new beds along with a new court building, support services, a 48-bed short-term treatment program at the Durango facility, and 120 new beds along with renovation of existing court and ancillary facilities at the Southeast facility. Additionally, two other major changes were implemented including a compensation initiative for staff and the creation of an employee orientation and training department entitled “Youth Services Academy.” Delinquency Dependency Severance Adoption Total Filed INDIGENT REPRESENTATION Detention 903 796 860 885 788 787 821 767 850 834 857 743 9,891 LEGAL DEFENDER FY98 FY99 %CHG Major Felonies Other Felonies Dependencies Severance Report and Review 125 2,694 303 24 57 111 3,030 579 97 113 -11% +12% +91% +300% +98% 158 +16% 302 20,013 10,640 3,616 9,362 140 516 305 +3% -7% +15% -19% -8% +92% +16% +30% 771 1,765 -1% +15% PUBLIC DEFENDER Homicides* 136 Serious Crimes Against Children* 291 Other Felonies* 21,535 Probation Revocations* 9,221 Misdemeanors* 4,472 Delinquencies** 10,196 Juvenile Appeals*** 73 Appeals*** 446 Post-Conviction Reliefs*** 235 Appeal/Post-Conviction Reliefs*** 786 Mental Health**** 1,531 OFFICE OF COURT APPOINTED COUNSEL Major Felonies* 2nd Chair Death Penalty Sexual Predators Felonies* Delinquencies***** Appeals*** Post-Conviction Reliefs 99 25 27 2,772 3,713 54 331 72 23 45 2,290 3,187 47 349 -27% -8% +67% -17% -14% -13% +5% * Gross Assignments have been adjusted and do not include cases in which no complaint was filed. No credit is taken for any assignments which resulted in a withdrawal due to conflict or the retention of private counsel, if that withdrawal occurred at the Justice Court level. No credit taken for cases from which the office withdrew citing excessive workload. ** In addition to deductions to gross assignments stated above, Report and Review assignments in Juvenile are counted as only one-half case. *** PCRs and Appeal/PCRs are counted by CR# rather than by # of petitions. No credit is taken for cases withdrawn due to exessive workloads or because no complaint filed. **** No deductions are made from gross assignments. *****No credit is given to contract counsel for additional petitions in Juvenile matters. This is a count of juveniles assigned to private counsel through disposition. Fiscal Year 1998 - 1999 ACTIVITIES REPORT 5 SUPERIOR COURT Marcus Reinkensmeyer IMPORTANT EVENTS IN 1998 Early Disposition Court (EDC) was implemented in November 1997 to help expedite case disposition and alleviate some of the growing backlog of criminal cases. The EDC was designed to process drug cases more quickly and provide a differentiated route from arrest to treatment. E A R L Y D IS P O S IT IO N C O U R T 1998 The Office of the Court Interpreter was appointed to 3,633 cases in Superior Court in 1998. Spanish speaking defendants were represented in 97% of these cases. PRETRIAL SERVICES Pretrial Services Agency currently consists of three major segments: Jail Unit, Defendant Monitoring Unit, and Planning and Development Unit. Calendar Year 1998 was the first full year that Pretrial Services Agency has operated as its own department within Operations and Caseflow Management. 669 725 P re tria l S e rv ic e s A g e n c y D e f e n d a n t M o n i t o r i n g R e f e r r a ls 2652 T erm in a ted in E D C 4000 P en d in g E n d of Yea r 3000 T ra n sferred to S u p erior C ou rt The Court’s Website www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov offers a variety of informational links. The Court Case information link offers users access to more than 20 million court records dating back to 1987. Also, an automated informational telephone service system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. FELONY FILINGS AND TRANSFERS 19,203 1995 16,912 1994 16,244 1993 15,196 1992 15,137 1991 15,697 1990 1996 CRIMINAL DEPARTMENT Total Case Filings Total Terminations Clearance Rate Active Pending Caseload Total Trials Completed Trial Rate Defendants Sentenced Acquitted/Dismissed Guilty Plea Arraignments 5,000 10,000 15,000 CY97 CY98 %CHG 21,207 20,506 97% 5,221 778 3.7% 17,474 3,032 7,828 24,708 23,235 94% 6,827 900 3.6% 20,146 3,089 7,738 +17% +13% -3% +31% +16% -1% +15% +2% -1% Type of Matter CY97 CY98 OP Hearing Requested OP Hearing Commenced OPs Issued OPs Denied Emergency Orders Issued 1,297 1,087 2,965 267 333 1,435 1,258 2,896 238 317 %CHG +11% +16% -2% -11% -5% Note: Superior Court currently reports data in calendar year format, but will be making a transition to fiscal year statistical reporting after completing full database conversion. 15,336 0 1998 0 ORDERS OF PROTECTION 21,265 1996 1997 2403 1000 24,708 1997 3487 2000 Backlog Reduction Efforts are underway. It is hoped that the backlog of criminal cases will be reduced by identifying the oldest backlog cases, and reassigning them to noncriminal department judges. To date, the court has reassigned 150 older criminal cases and disposed of 85 percent. This ongoing effort will require continued review, identification, and case reassignment, and will systematically reduce the criminal case backlog and improve case processing timelines. 1998 3285 20,000 Maricopa County Justice System Activities Report 25,000 30,000 Fiscal Year 1998 - 1999 ACTIVITIES REPORT 6 JUSTICE SYSTEM NEWS “Fill the Gap” Approved Several significant events occurred this fiscal year for the justice and law enforcement system in Maricopa County. One is that after two years of debate, the legislature passed Senate Bill 1013, the “Fill the Gap” initiative. This law provides funding for courts, clerk of courts, prosecution and defense agencies to improve criminal case processing. The goal is to fund adequate numbers of staff to address burgeoning caseloads so that felony cases reach disposition within timelines developed by the Arizona Supreme Court. Funding will be allocated to Maricopa County each year for this purpose with $1.26 million anticipated for fiscal year 1999-2000. Criminal Department Procedures Reengineered The Criminal Department of Superior Court continued its reengineering effort through the fiscal year. A pilot was initiated in January in one quadrant of the court to test calendar restructuring and new procedures, with positive results. After refining the concepts, the reengineering plan was expanded to all downtown criminal court divisions. While changes in process are difficult for system partners to absorb, these caseprocessing improvements have reflected positively on case disposition statistics and on the adult jail population. Jail Tax Approved by Voters One pivotal event this fiscal year occurred on November 3, 1998 when voters overwhelmingly approved Propositions 400 and 401. This instituted a one-fifth cent excise tax (for nine years or $900 million) to pay for constructing and operating new jail and detention facilities, and provide funding for specific programs that lessen the need for beds. During the Master Planning phase (resulting in the Citizens’ Advisory Committee reports), the number of total adult beds to be constructed was reduced by 2,100, supposing that projects designed to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system would be fully implemented. This was projected to result in fewer adult beds needed by helping to maintain the average length of a jail stay at or below 20.9 days. Similarly, the number of total juvenile beds to be constructed was reduced by 125, predicated upon providing additional community-based programming. The Citizens’ Advisory Committee recommended that a total of 5,500 adult and 500 juvenile beds be added as part of a $1.4 billion, 15-year plan Master Plan. Statute allowed and the voters approved a scaleddown version, totaling $900 million over nine years. The Master Plan was modified to reflect the reduced revenues by eliminating the final phase of development. Therefore, a total of 3,139 adult jail beds (built to classifications) and 388 juvenile detention beds are being pursued. Maricopa County Justice System Activities Report Initiatives approved by voters with Proposition 400 include: 1. Expand juvenile and adult jail capacity and provide related facilities. 2. Maintain and operate adult and juvenile jail facilities. 3. Implement an integrated criminal justice information system. 4. Develop regional centers for courts not-of-record and/or reduce transports to justice of the peace courts. 5. Implement differentiated case management. 6. Eliminate unnecessary court proceedings. 7. Consolidate criminal divisions to a common location. 8. Expand pretrial release supervision and electronic monitoring. 9. Enhance substance abuse evaluation and programming. 10. Expand drug court. 11. Expand community-based programs for juveniles. Immediately following passage of Proposition 400, the County responded to the voter mandate. An in-house team was assembled to oversee the four different construction programs: the juvenile facilities, downtown adult jail, Durango complex jail, and the downtown parking structure. Financial and accounting systems were established. An outside program manager and civil engineer were selected. Programming of all planned facilities was 95% complete by the end of the fiscal year, with negotiations for land acquisitions largely complete. Through the year there have been approved modifications to the Master Plan, where appropriate. Progress has also been made toward implementing several of the non-structural programs (Initiatives 3 through 11), with considerable funds allocated by the Board of Supervisors for start-up needs. The Board of Supervisors, County Attorney, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, and the Sheriff together appointed a Citizens Jail Oversight Committee. The role of this Committee is to ensure that plans associated with Proposition 400 projects are in keeping with the promises made to the voters. The Committee will be active for the duration of the tax, which was effective the first of January 1999. The preparatory work completed this fiscal yearfor financial systems, construction projects, non-structural projects, and establishing oversight responsibilities-provides a solid foundation for the improvements sanctioned by voters. MARICOPA COUNTY JUSTICE SYSTEM ACTIVITIES REPORT Please note that minor differences in data reporting between departments are due to variations in definitions. Report compiled by Justice System Coordination. For information regarding departmental reporting and data please contact those representatives listed. For questions or suggestions regarding this document contact Trina Belanger (506-1310) or Tracee Rohde (5064205). Fiscal Year 1998 - 1999