The Sutter County District Attorney's Office has been working understaffed, with lawyers each reviewing up to 1,000 cases annually, according to Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupree. Photo courtesy of the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - An understaffed district attorney's office is detrimental to public safety. 

That’s according to Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupree, who talked to the Territorial Dispatch about  how the required 10 District Attorney staff has recently worked with only five. Adding another chief deputy district attorney two weeks ago increased the department staff by 50%, which is still not ideal for the criminal justice agency, according to Dupree.

“As with all law enforcement, we are no longer viewed as the ‘good guys,’ so most law students are not interested in entering the field,” Dupree said. “This leaves a small pool of potential new prosecutors and an even smaller pool of experienced prosecutors.”

The lack of lawyers causes statewide competition among California's 58 counties. As with most jobs, salary is the Number One factor in employee decisions, she said.

“Unfortunately, Sutter County lags very far behind most neighboring counties in terms of salary, and while the cost of living (especially housing) used to be a draw to the area, that is no longer the case,” Dupree said.

Counties that also offer a greater quality of life, including social and shopping, social activities, tend to be the most successful, according to Dupree. 

“Even if we were fully staffed with 10 deputy district attorneys, a chief deputy district attorney, and me, we would be overloaded with work,” Dupree said.

Case overload postpones convictions. The Sutter County District Attorney’s Office reviews an average of 4,000 cases a month.

“To prosecute a case, we need to review police reports, review physical evidence, meet with victims and witnesses, and visit crime scenes, among other things,” Dupree said, adding that only four district attorneys underneath her equals each district attorney reviewing a minimum of 1,000 cases each. 

“There is simply too much work for us to do our jobs as efficiently as we would like,” Dupree said.

Timing is everything when it comes to community protection.

Longer case reviews enable criminals who are out of custody to continue to commit crimes, further increasing caseloads and endangering the public, according to Dupree. The district attorney explained how it could get worse pending future legislation.

“We are hopeful that Prop 36 will pass, as it will help decrease the number of repeat offenders who know that currently, there are essentially no consequences under the law for theft and drug charges that are rampant,” Dupree said.

Measure D, a proposed funding arrangement between Sutter County and Yuba City if the proposed 1% sales tax passes in November, is also imperative.

“Quite simply, if Measure D passes, we will be able to offer much more competitive salaries,” Dupree said.

As an example, Dupree uses Placer County, which pays deputy district attorney s $20,000 more annually across the board.

Additionally, Sacramento, Yolo County, El Dorado and Nevada Counties pay significantly more than Sutter County. 

“Having competitive salaries will likely enable us to hire qualified candidates,” Dupree said. “This was demonstrated when we had no qualified applicants for the position of chief deputy district attorney until the Board of Supervisors raised the salary for that position.”

Evidence in point: Measure M is critical to the future of the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office, according to Dupree.

“The DA's Office in Sutter County has an incredibly dedicated team but they are overworked,” Dupree said, adding it still has not stopped the team from being successful. “But we want to do even better, and to do so, we need more prosecutors.”

According to the district attorney, the need for more competitive salaries “comes straight from the horses' mouths.”

“There have been instances where candidates have told us that they love our office and would like to accept our offer of employment but they can't live off the salary we offer,” Dupree said. “Being able to team up on complex cases will lessen delays in bringing justice and closure to victims of crime.”

The bottom line is that voters' approval of Measure M equals less burnout for the department, according to Dupree.

“We must be able to hire both experienced felony prosecutors as well as less experienced misdemeanor prosecutors,” Dupree said.