Prosecutor pleads for juvenile court help

EPHRATA — The number of juvenile offenders charged with crimes by the Grant County Prosecutor's Office may be cut "drastically" in 2007, the county's commissioners were warned Tuesday.

The prosecutor's office is outgunned — in terms of manpower and money — in juvenile court, Grant County Prosecutor John Knodell told commissioners during a budget work session at the courthouse.

Funds are currently allocated for one prosecutor in juvenile court. Meantime, kids are represented by one of three public defenders.

The prosecutor's office filed charges in 800 juvenile cases in 2005, when the public defender-to-prosecutor ratio was two-to-one, Knodell said. When the ratio dropped to three-to-one in 2006, the number of case filings fell to about 400.

Knodell acknowledged the downward trend in case filings is partially a result of natural fluctuations in crime. Still, without an additional prosecutor in juvenile court, Knodell anticipates even fewer case filings in 2007, possibly 200 to 250.

Charging guidelines would be altered without a second prosecutor, he said, narrowing the focus to more serious crimes. Some juvenile offenders simply would not be charged.

"There's nothing we can do about it, unless you give us more people," Knodell told the commission. "There's going to be a drastic drop in filings."

He estimated the cost for one more prosecutor, plus a secretary, would be approximately $124,000.

Following the meeting, Knodell said he was "cautiously optimistic" he'd get the new positions. "We're crying out for them," the prosecutor said.

Commission Chairman Richard Stevens said they're considering Knodell's request. Final budget decisions won't be made until late next week.

"We're trying to see if it's something we can afford," Stevens said in an interview. "We know there is a need for (Knodell). At the same time we can't outspend what we've got."

The state gave Grant County $400,000 in December 2005, earmarked for public defenders in dependency and juvenile cases in 2006, Knodell said. By contrast, no money was given to the prosecutor's office for juvenile court, he said.