Attorney General Matt Denn presented his proposed budget to the state budget office Thursday, saying the Department of Justice is backlogged with murder cases.
His top priority is hiring prosecutors to handle the homicide cases, which can sometimes be backlogged up to a year.
“We have already indicted more homicides this calendar year than we have through the entire last calendar year,” Denn said.
Denn is also asking for more prosecutors to pursue what he calls “enterprise” cases.
“Cases involving youth gangs or drug rings. Where there are literally dozen of people involved in the case,” Denn said.
Denn says these cases involve hundreds of man hours to find the ringleaders and then build a case that will lead to a conviction.
And the opioid epidemic has put added pressure on the Department of Justice to break up these drug rings.
The use of body cameras has also been a strain on Denn’s department. State prosecutors are responsible for reviewing body camera recordings relevant to their case.
And Denn said that’s a significant demand of resources on a department already stretched-thin.
