NCJ Number
128078
Journal
Georgia Trooper Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: (1990) Pages: 35,37,39,41,43
Date Published
1990
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Site visits to jurisdictions in Maine, Oregon, New York City, and New Hampshire gathered information on efforts to develop close working relationships between police investigators and prosecutors to improve arrest and conviction rates.
Abstract
In 1987 Maine enacted a law mandating cooperation between investigators and prosecutors to create more efficient and effective drug law enforcement. The Maine Bureau of Intergovernmental Drug Enforcement was established in March 1988 and staffed by 50 agents working with 8 attorneys. Investigators and prosecutors communicate closely and focus on tactics to prove guilt from the beginning. In Multnomah County (Oreg.), the Organized Crime/Narcotics Task Force has brought together 12 investigators from several area agencies and 2 prosecutors to focus on major narcotics organizations and to seize traffickers' assets. Cooperative efforts between police and prosecutors in New York City focus on gang crime. In Laconia, New Hampshire, efforts focus on misdemeanors. Finally, results of a study of arson investigation in several cities showed that conviction rates were closely related to conviction rates. Notes and chart profiling each jurisdiction.