Accomplishments

Plea Bargaining Rate

We have the lowest plea bargaining rate and the highest trial rate in Arizona. In 2006, 5,653 felony defendants were prosecuted, 430 of them at trial. More than 70% of our felony trials involved defendants charged with violent crimes. Since 1996 we have prosecuted more than 59,000 felony defendants, more than 6400 of these defendants were prosecuted by trial.

Homicide

Since 1996, over 900 defendants have been prosecuted for murder. The Cold Case Unit, established in 1996, has successfully prosecuted 7 previously unsolved “cold” homicides, dating as far back as 1987.

Gangs

In 2006, we prosecuted 195 violent gang members on charges ranging from conspiracy and criminal racketeering to drug trafficking, illegal weapons possession, aggravated assault, kidnapping, sexual assault, drive-by shooting and murder. One hundred ninety three were convicted.

Guns

Since the establishment of the special Gun Crimes Prosecution Unit in 2000, there has been a 158% increase in felony convictions for possession of illegal firearms, and a 68% increase in the number of defendants sentenced to prison for illegal weapons. A significant increase in the length of prison sentence imposed has resulted in a 101% increase in the overall number of years offenders are sentenced to prison. In 2000, 100 gun-related homicide charges were filed, 551 aggravated assaults with guns, 258 armed robberies and 269 charges of illegal possession of a firearm. Six years later, in 2006, the number of filed charges for illegal possession of a weapon increased to 340 and the number of convictions increased by 25%.

Special Victims

Since 1996, the Special Victims Unit has prosecuted more than 12,300 sex crimes and crimes against children. In calendar year 2006, more than 950 crimes against children were prosecuted. In 2006, 214 defendants were prosecuted for felony domestic violence, thousands of defendants were held accountable for misdemeanor domestic violence offenses and more than 300 juveniles were adjudicated on domestic violence charges. Domestic violence misdemeanor offenses are now consolidated for prosecution in one DV courtroom.

Narcotic and dangerous drugs

Since July 1996, more than 14,000 felony narcotic and dangerous drug cases have been prosecuted. By 2006, we experienced a 239% increase in our drug case filings. Since July 1996, the forfeiture unit has seized and forfeited more than $50 million in assets from criminals. In 2006, the property forfeitures included 221 vehicles, 54 guns, and 7 houses. The total value of the forfeitures in 2006 was more than $2.5 million.

Property Crimes

In 1996, we prosecuted 416 robbery cases. In 2006, an 129% increase resulted in more than 900 robbery prosecutions. In 1996, there were 1098 burglary prosecutions. Ten years later, an additional 700 cases resulted in a 55.5% increase in burglary filings. In 1996, 1055 theft cases were prosecuted. By 2006, 1636 thefts were prosecuted for an increase of 55.1%. In 2002, a full time prosecutor was assigned to the Arizona Auto Theft Authority Task Force to work with closely with law enforcement and prosecute the hundreds of criminal defendants arrested for auto theft each year. In 2006, a significant increase in filings created the need for two prosecutors to be assigned to the Auto Theft Task Force.

Juvenile Offenses

Each year more than 12,000 juveniles are prosecuted. More than 100,000 juveniles have been prosecuted in the ten years since 1996. The caseload for juvenile prosecutors averages between 120-150 per prosecutor. In addition to prosecuting cases, each juvenile prosecutor is assigned to a specific school district to lead their school-based SMART teams.

Misdemeanor Offenses

Justice Court misdemeanor caseloads have doubled in the 10 years since 1996. In 1996, ten thousand misdemeanor cases were prosecuted by 5 deputy county attorneys (2000 cases each). In 2006, more than 25,000 misdemeanor cases were prosecuted by 8 deputy county attorneys (3000 cases each). This number increases every year as a result of our growing population.