The City of St. Louis is experiencing a crime wave that is taking its toll on the citizens, their property and the businesses in the community. Mothers of murdered children are outraged every time the perpetrator is arrested by police, only to have the Circuit Attorney’s Office drop the charges and release the perpetrator.
Recently, the circuit attorney’s chief homicide prosecutor appeared on local television touting her record of a 100 percent conviction rate in homicide court trials. However, she could hardly keep a straight face when she acknowledged that that conviction rate was possible, in part, because of witness testimony, conceding that in most cases witnesses do not come forward.
In March, I suggested in an article that the reason the Circuit Attorney’s Office cannot gain the cooperation of witnesses was largely due to the lack of diversity in that office. At that time, there were 59 attorneys in the office, and only seven were African-American. Today, that number has dropped to four African-American attorneys in the Circuit Attorney’s office.
People are less trusting of authority figures who do not look like them, yet the circuit attorney has done nothing to change the profile so that it reflects the community it is supposed to serve. When asked about the lack of diversity in March, Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce used the same argument that former Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson used when he was asked about the lack of diversity in his department: “I can’t find any qualified people.”
It begs the question, “Where has she been looking?” If that office stays the same, crime will remain the same.
Criminologists, law enforcement officials and other experts tell us that 90 percent of the crime in St. Louis is being committed by 10 percent of the people. This 10 percent of the population has not been dealt with in a way that causes the crime to decrease, for if they were, we could simply arrest, prosecute and incarcerate them. The police are investigating the crime and making the arrests. When it comes to prosecution, the 90-10 rule resurfaces, but in a different way. It appears that only 10 percent of the people arrested are prosecuted successfully. The other 90 percent result in no charges being issued, or the charges later dropped.
The circuit attorney recently touted a new initiative to help reduce crime by targeting offenders re-entering society from prison. This is not a new approach. There are many programs targeting re-entry. A couple of months ago, the mayor stood in front of the City Workhouse and proposed an initiative partnering with SLATE to provide jobs and training for inmates upon their release.
Both of these initiatives should serve the offenders re-entering society well in providing jobs, training and resources to help keep them from re-offending, but what about the 90 percent who are arrested and never make it to prison? They are released after 24 hours and they return to the same neighborhood, same block, same group of friends and engage in the same conduct that got them arrested.
As circuit attorney, I only want to see an offender one time. If I cannot prosecute them, I can certainly help them. Offenders who cannot be prosecuted, upon their release from the Justice Center, should be offered the same services that are currently being offered to the offenders who are re-entering society from prison. With the assistance of community-based organizations, including Better Family Life, the Fathers Support Center, and 100 Black Men, this initiative would reduce crime.
The Circuit Attorney’s Office is in desperate need of a new vision, new leadership and new ideas.
Steve Harmon currently serves as in-house counsel for the St. Louis Public School District. He is a former St. Louis police officer and municipal court prosecutor.
