From Deputy Chief James McCreary:
We are constantly working with and have good relationships with our lawmakers, judges, commissioners and SAO. You are correct, there are significant shortages across the board. We had a good conversation with Ms. Braveboy about the hiring and retention challenges the State’s Attorney’s Office is facing, so it not that we are not on the same page.
It’s just as police hear on a daily basis the needs of the community in regards to crime and violent crime. Police and in several instances the State’s Attorney’s Office form a unique bond because we see the impact crime has on victims and communities. We do our best to represent your concerns to the our politicians and other partners in the Criminal Justice System, but that voice is so much stronger coming from our citizens. My request is that the our community shares those concerns and issues with our policy makers and partners consistently, as well. We enforce the laws but it is our citizens that dictate the laws and standards of our community. We understand we cannot arrest our way out of a problem and there has to be a mechanism for rehabilitation, but we also need to hold our violent offenders accountable and keep the public safe with incarceration coupled have viable resources/programs for rehabilitation for when they return to our communities.