Mission Statement: The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney sees that the laws are faithfully executed and enforced with integrity in order to maintain the rule of law and achieve just results.

The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney is the legal agency responsible for the prosecution of all criminal offenses occurring on the Big Island. The Prosecuting Attorney appoints the necessary staff to represent the people of this community before the District Court, Family Court, Circuit Court, Grand Jury, Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii.

The Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys also appear in Federal courts, including the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, to see that Big Island convictions are not overturned. The agency’s duty and goal is to seek justice in criminal cases in the County of Hawaii.

BUDGET

In the ’99 – ‘00 fiscal year, the Office had a total projected operating budget of $4,737,535. 36% or $1,733,914 of the budget was obtained from federal and state grants. Federal monies through the U.S. Department of Justice provided funding for the Violence Against Children, Violence Against Women, Juvenile Accountability Block Grant, and Local Law Enforcement Block Grant projects. The Victims of Crime Act, a federal grant program, funded positions and programs for the Victims Assistance Unit. In addition, State funding was received for the Career Criminal Program and Victim/Witness Program.

Units

Offices are located in Hilo, Kealakekua, and Waimea to serve Big Island residents. The Prosecutor’s Office is divided into five units: 1) Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys’ Unit; 2) Investigative Unit; 3) Victims Assistance Unit; 4) Administrative Unit; and 5) Clerical Support Unit.

The Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys’ Unit is divided into East, West and North Hawaii teams to handle all criminal cases that occur in their respective districts.

The East Hawaii Team includes deputies designated for the prosecution of domestic and family violence cases, cases involving child physical and sexual abuse, and cases involving women victims. There is also one attorney designated for Family Court matters and another designated for coordinating community outreach.

Major specialized areas and efforts within the Attorneys’ Unit are:

• The Career Criminal Prosecution Program is a State-funded project designed to get repeat criminal offenders through the system as quickly as possible with the maximum sanctions available. The Career Criminal program is also charged with handling sex offenders.

• Drug prosecution attorneys handle major drug cases and advise the police regarding the commercial promotion of marijuana and the increasing problems with cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin and crystal methamphetamine (ice).
• The Felony Unit prosecuted a number of notable trials this past year which included: Frank Pauline, convicted of murder, kidnapping and sexual assault and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences and one concurrent life sentence; Albert Ian Schweitzer, convicted of murder, kidnapping and sexual assault and sentenced to a life term and two 20 years terms to be served consecutively; Jefferson Pau, convicted of murder and sentenced to consecutive life terms; and Richard Damien Serrano, convicted of murder, sexual assault and kidnapping and sentenced to two life terms and two 10 year terms to be served consecutively.
• The Screening Unit is responsible for all screening and charging decisions East Hawaii and designated West Hawaii cases, including both felony and misdemeanor cases. They also analyze cases for plea negotiations and present appropriate cases to the Grand Jury. The benefit to the County is greater uniformity in charging and faster response to the public.
• Forfeitures remain an uncertain source of revenue for the office. Funds have been used for law enforcement purposes including crime prevention programs such as the McGruff anti-shoplifting program and the Keiki ID program. Over 900 Keiki ID’s were provided in the ‘99-’00 year. This year, $14,674 of forfeiture funds were received.
• The District/Family Court Unit handles all traffic and misdemeanor cases occurring in the seven District Courts. This caseload includes domestic violence as well as the juvenile cases that are scheduled in the Family Courts. Major increases in the number of driving under the influence cases continue to impact the District Court Unit with more cases on calendar and set for trial.

The Investigative Unit provides trial, pre-trial and post-trial investigative assistance to the deputy prosecutors. This unit also maintains a list of fugitives from Hawaii County on the FBI’s National Crime Information Center computer system and also works closely with the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Office in returning fugitives nationally or internationally.

The Administrative Unit seeks additional state and federal funding for specialized programs, and manages fiscal, personnel, facilities and management information systems for the largest legal agency in our County.

The Clerical Support Unit keeps pace with the word processing and information management needs of the office by extensive use of computer equipment. The clerical support staff is an integral part of successful prosecution. There are eighteen clerical staff handling reception, case-tracking and court-related procedures in the Hilo office and five in the Kona office.

• Co-sponsored a Violence Against Children Seminar with the Children’s Advocacy Center on October 25-26, 1999. Lt. Bill Walsh from Dallas presented the workshop on investigation and prosecution of child maltreatment cases. Attending were 82 representatives from police, prosecutors, Child Protective Services, Children’s Advocacy Center consultants and other service providers.
• Coordinated a Forensic Seminar on November 12, 1999 for prosecutors, police, fire rescue personnel and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park staff. Nationally recognized forensic experts presented on the application of forensic sciences on criminal investigations.
• Co-sponsored with the Western Community Policing Center and the Police Department a Community Mobilization Workshop, March 23-24, 2000, and a Developing Problem Solving Team Workshop, May 24-26, 2000.
• Co-sponsored a regional Asset Forfeiture Seminar, May 18 – 19, 2000. 72 participants from throughout the state and Guam attended this seminar which was conducted by U.S. Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture training staff.
• Co-sponsored a Gang Awareness Seminar on June 29 and 30, 2000. The first day focused on issues for prosecutors, investigators and police while the second day was offered to interested community members and Department of Education personnel. A total of 100 people attended.
• Sponsored a Juvenile Justice Strategic Planning Workshop, May 3 – 4, 2000, with funding provided by a Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant. Over 85 students and adults representing law enforcement, government, education, and the community collectively developed a Juvenile Justice Strategic Plan, the first of it’s kind in the State of Hawaii.

• Through Victims of Crime Act grant funding the Office provided Kona Hospital with a colpolscope and alternate light source. Hilo Hospital was also provided an alternate light source. These items aid in sexual assault examinations and documentation.

• Through Local Law Enforcement Block Grant funding improvements were made to network communications between the courts, police and prosecutors. Necessary computers and communication devices were provided to assist in implementing the State’s transitional Offender Based Tracking System.
• The Prosecutor and deputies continue to provide ongoing and refresher training for police officers and recruits as well as to other agencies and community organizations.

Special Projects

The Office’s mission has continued to focus on the areas of Community Oriented Prosecution, Domestic and Family Violence, and Violence Against Children.

Community Oriented Prosecution.

The mission of Community Oriented Prosecution is to improve the quality of life in Hawaii County by creating and fostering partnerships between the community and other agencies in order to reduce crime. Community Oriented Prosecution offers a major link between the police and judicial branch of government, giving citizens a better sense of community. It encourages cooperation between all people on the Big Island and fosters an atmosphere of community empowerment.

One deputy is assigned as the Community Prosecution Coordinator who works closely with Community Police officers in educating and empowering communities to unify against crime. Accomplishments and activities of the Office’s Community Prosecution effort include:

• Interagency coordination for the Domestic Violence Interagency Team (DVIAT).
• Providing assistance to the Community Coalition for Neighborhood Safety (CCFNS). CCFNS is a coalition of community groups from around the island concerned with preventing crime and increasing the quality of life in Hawaii County through organized education, communication and participation with and by the community.
• Assistance to community groups and various agencies by making presentations on domestic violence, community empowerment, community development, building partnerships and problem solving.
• Initiated establishment of two Big Island chapters of Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii (VASH), an organization aimed at assisting tourists who are victims of crime or other major incidences.

Domestic and Family Violence

Domestic and family violence was recognized to be a severe and increasing problem in the County of Hawaii. Thus the Domestic Violence Unit was established within the Office in 1993. This project, initially funded by a federal/state grant, addressed expediting the processing of domestic violence cases and coordinated efforts and information sharing between agencies. The impact of the work done with the grant was very significant and in 1998 when grant funding ended the program was adopted by the County.

Based on the experience of the project, the more quickly a case proceeds and the less time the victim is exposed to the offender, the easier prosecution usually becomes and the better the results. Feedback from victims also indicate that expedited victim contact, improvement in screening time, and vertical prosecution have had a positive impact on victims.

The DV HURT (Domestic Violence Hospital Urgent Response Team) program continues to provide an "on call" team to provide support to victims of domestic violence. These volunteers are available 24-hours daily to provide information, referral and advocacy service to victims who report to the hospital.

Volunteer recruiting and training continues where volunteers assist in victim contacts, provide clerical and investigative assistance, and assist with DVIAT committee work. Volunteers contributed a total of 5294 hours or an average of 441 hours per month during the ‘99-’00 fiscall year.

Violence Against Children

In an effort to continue to address the problem of domestic violence in the County of Hawaii, the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney applied for and received a grant to deal with cases of child physical and sexual abuse. The grant’s goal, "to better protect children and hold offenders accountable by improving the prosecution and interagency response to violence against children, including sexual assault and physical abuse", further extends the concepts of protection for the community that was first addressed by the domestic violence project.

One of the primary objectives of this grant is to develop a county-wide protocol between police, prosecutors, child protective workers, schools, family court, guardian ad litems, substance abuse, mental health and other service providers to better process child physical abuse cases. Interagency coordination is essential for effective prosecution.

Deputy prosecutors sit on advisory boards and committees to improve the protection and services provided to children. These include the Children’s Advocacy Center’s Advisory Committee, Child Death Review Committee, and Child Welfare Services Advisory Board.

It is the hope of the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney that coordinated community responses along with education and public awareness will prevent violence in general and make our communities safer, not only for our children but for all of us.

Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant (JAIBG) Project

In cooperation with Family Court Probation, the Office implemented a demonstration project to provide a community service and restitution program for adjudicated juvenile offenders. The EARN (Education Accountability Restorative Network) is a youth focused community based rehabilitative program which assists offenders in completing accountability based sanctions,, restorative services in the community and educational job readiness skills building.