During his recent yearly report, Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce emphasized ongoing challenges with finding enough staff in his office and in law enforcement agencies in general.
Similar to the report he provided one year ago, Sanguedolce mentioned that his office is seeing more experienced police officers retiring from service across the county. With the decreasing institutional knowledge in local departments, county detectives are taking on a larger role in a growing number and variety of cases, he explained.
The DA stated, “We're doing our best to train the less experienced detectives in the local departments so they can handle increasingly complicated investigations.”
However, the DA also mentioned that he is working on recruiting staff for his office to investigate and prosecute criminal cases.
His 2023 budget allotted around $4.67 million for wages and benefits but he ended up spending $4.3 million due to vacancies in the office.
There are currently 16 open positions, including seven assistant district attorneys (six full-time and one part-time), two full-time opioid detectives, one part-time drug task force detective, and two division chiefs, his report stated.
As an example, Sanguedolce noted that one deputy district attorney left to work for the attorney general.
His office is increasing its recruitment efforts at the college level and considering reintroducing paid internships. He also is collaborating with the union and county manager to explore potential solutions.
Seven unfilled positions out of 28 — 25% — “is a real obstacle to preparing cases for trial,” he mentioned, pointing out that many colleagues across the state are facing similar staffing issues, as are public defender’s offices.
In 2023, the county DA’s Office handled 4,179 cases in the county Court of Common Pleas.
He noted that this number does not include cases that did not advance to the Court of Common Pleas.
The DA’s Office carried out 53 jury and bench trials in 2023, which is slightly less than the 61 in 2022.
He attributed this decrease “more to the shortage of assistant district attorneys than to a decrease in crime.”
“It is simply more difficult to get as many cases prepared and into trial with fewer lawyers,” his report stated.
Children
Similar to last year, his latest report presented grim statistics on cases involving children.
He mentioned that last year saw 3,065 reports made to ChildLine, compared to 2,434 in 2022.
ChildLine is part of a mandated statewide child protective services program aimed at receiving child abuse referrals and general child well-being concerns and forwarding the information to the appropriate investigating agency. Cases classified as potentially criminal are referred to the District Attorney in the county where they are believed to have occurred.
Sanguedolce mentioned that his office’s child predator division received 199 cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children last year, which is an increase from the prior year’s 167.
In pursuing those cases, his office executed 48 search warrants and completed 61 forensic examinations of computers, cell phones, and other digital evidence.
He said that 31 people were arrested for exploiting children and 9 children were rescued as a result.
Last year, his office sent 528 children to the Child Advocacy Center because they revealed some type of physical, mental, or sexual abuse, compared to 473 referrals in 2022.
The center, which relies solely on donations and grants, allows young crime victims to have one recorded forensic interview so they don't have to endure repeated, traumatic questioning about their abuse.
Out of those referrals, the DA said that 432 children needed medical exams to ensure their well-being due to alleged abuse.
Sanguedolce also gave an update on the office's youth aid panel program, where groups of citizen volunteers create agreements with first-time, nonviolent juvenile offenders, giving them a chance to avoid having a criminal record.
He mentioned that cases can be referred by police, school resource officers, and magisterial district judges if they believe it's appropriate to divert them.
He also mentioned that there are currently 10 panels operating across the county, thanks to 45 volunteers.
In 2023, 63 cases were completed, allowing the records of those juveniles to be expunged, which he reported as a positive outcome.
According to him, most of the cases were related to marijuana or fights in schools.
The participants' ages are evenly split between 11 to 14 years old and 15 to 18 years old.
Other initiatives
Sanguedolce listed various grants and funding available for upcoming initiatives, including the creation of an emergency services unit.
According to him, this unit would offer law enforcement resources that are typically only available through state police or federal entities, such as teams specializing in accident reconstruction and cell phone/electronic data analysis.
He stated that a central processing center is being developed to create a single location for arrestees to be delivered, processed, and taken to the prison. The plan has been approved by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), and the DA's office has petitioned for a $300 fee to be added to each defendant to fund the center.
He also mentioned that grant funding has allowed the office to focus more on crimes committed with firearms, going beyond actual shootings to include an increase in ghost guns production and more straw purchases.
