Since the Bureau of Corrections will become its own standalone agency in October, the Justice Department will have more money to focus on prosecuting crimes, but extra funding will be needed later as each division’s caseload continues to increase, officials said Monday.
Increasing crime levels have made the department’s criminal division the most active. There are currently 23 assistant attorneys general prosecuting the cases, and three new attorneys should be coming on board within the next month, Attorney General Vincent Frazer told the members of the Senate’s Appropriations and Budget Committee.
But a lack of money and competitive salaries, along with an ongoing government hiring freeze, has still kept some more critical slots open and kept the numbers low in other divisions, from gaming enforcement to the Solicitor General’s Office, he said.
Over the past fiscal year, the department’s civil division has opened 132 new files and closed 56. The numbers should continue to jump as the government plans on filing more lawsuits to prosecute cases of "wrongdoing against the government and people of the territory,” Frazer said Monday.
There are currently eight assistant attorneys general in the civil division — four on St. Thomas and four on St. Croix.
White-collar crime cases — involving embezzlement, fraud and government corruption — have also spiked, and are coming in "faster than we can investigate and file" a suit, he said. More staff is needed in the special investigation division, which will investigate each case and recommend them for prosecution, Frazer said, adding that the department has been "scouring" for any money still available in its coffers for witness-protection detail.
The opening of the V.I. Superior Court’s new magistrate division has also increased the need for more attorneys, and four new assistant attorneys general positions have been factored into the department’s fiscal year 2010 budget. At the same time, however, more staff is needed within the Solicitor General’s Office, which provides legal service to executive branch departments, including handling the government’s longstanding property-tax case before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and negotiating contracts for the third-party fiduciary, among other things.
But for right now, it’s belt-tightening time, Frazer said. Justice’s FY 2010 $20.4 million overall budget should be enough to keep things running if the money is properly managed, he said. The budget request includes about $15.3 million from the General Fund and a little more than $5 million in federal funds.
Justice’s FY 2009 budget — which included Corrections — was $39.5 million from the General Fund and $4.6 million in federal funds, for an overall $44.2 million. Of the FY 2010 General Fund amount, nearly $10 million would be put toward personnel services, while a little more than $3 million is earmarked for fringe benefits. The budget also includes $30,000 for capital outlays, $108,643 for supplies, about $2 million for other services and charges and $130,000 for utilities.
Justice plans to use federal economic-stimulus grant funds to add a homicide and violent crimes division in each district. If awarded, the grant money will also cover assistant attorneys general and support-staff salaries, Frazer said. Federal grants available through the Law Enforcement Planning Commission (LEPC) would also help Justice with its domestic-violence campaign, he said.
Justice will also get $700,000 under the miscellaneous section of the budget to pay for judgments.
Present during Monday’s hearing were Sens. Craig W. Barshinger, Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Louis P. Hill, Sammuel Sanes, Patrick Simeon Sprauve and Michael Thurland.
