The Justice Department on Tuesday announced it is awarding $352,803 in grant money to the Fulton District Attorney’s Office to fight against child predator crimes. Dekalb County will receive almost half a million dollars.
Fulton DA Paul Howard said his office will use the money to hire a specially trained prosecutor and investigator to work in his Crimes Against Women & Children Unit.
The Juvenile Justice Fund’s Kaffie McCullough, (A Future. Not A Past. AFNAP) spoke to me about the importance of funding investigations and of training. AFNAP actively trains prosecutors, investigators with both the police force and with the DA’s office, and law enforcement.
Kaffie McCullough, Campaign Director of A Future. Not A Past.
“Over the course of the last two years we’ve led over 100 trainings for law enforcement covering 55 counties. That’s approximately 2500 personnel.”
How important is funding for investigations?
“It’s very critical to have the funding for investigations, because these types of cases almost require more investigation than regular cases owing to the fact that it’s hard to prove some of the things that you need to prove, especially if you’re trying to get extended sentences.”
Why is that?
“At the State level, you have to prove the force and coercion of the kids in order to get the maximum sentencing, and sometimes these investigations require much more time and far greater perseverance because of the emotional state of the girls.
“They are likely suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, so their ability to recall things becomes sequentially better the longer they are out of their traumatic situation, and things get revealed over time. You need an investigation that allows for the needed time for all of their story to come out.”
Judge Phillip Jackson of the Fulton County Juvenile Court mentioned the need for resources not only for investigations but for services for the victims.
Judge Phillip Jackson
“Even though they’ve got the funding to help make arrests, a lot of the young ladies they find, the girls, they’re going to be deprived. Then the State and DFCS have to find a place for them, and you need the necessary resources. So what happens to the overflow? I think the research right now shows that we are only touching a very small percentage, and if you increase that percentage, we’ll need to increase those resources, because those young girls need help.”
And we’ve learned it’s not just a shelter that they need. There’s way more.
“Right. They need therapy; a lot of times they come from an economically deprived background, and our hope is for them to become whole, to find out who they are, and live a fulfilled life–to have a good quality of life. Our hope is that they’re not feeling guilty, and that we can help them mend whatever bonds they have.
“Also, they may be suffering from mental stress, and that’s going to be treated. So from that standpoint, we need additional funds to help these young girls. It’s not enough to just go in and say ‘I saved you’ and let them go . . . ”
Because that’s not saving them. . .
“That’s not saving them. And many times they are going right back to the only environment that they know.”
Fulton DA Paul Howard said his office will use the money to hire a specially trained prosecutor and investigator to work in his Crimes Against Women & Children Unit. What kind of difference do you see that making?
“Now, even with the DA’s money, we talk about having more weapons to fight this, more arrows in the quiver, more tools. Well, that’s a good tool, that’s a great tool, and hopefully they’ll use it in particular for investigation. Investigation needs to be done.
“It’s hard to catch people like this, because they don’t stand out on street corners. The ones doing the damage use the internet, they have houses, they meet people in hotels, and you have to train law enforcement and put the resources on the investigative end, because you have to interdict early in order to help save those young girls.”
Will (approx.) $353,000 make a difference?
“It will make a difference because it’s more than what they’ve got. Only the results will tell. And if the results are good enough, then hopefully we will begin to match this seed money with our own resources. A year from now, what will be the difference in the results?
“Right now, in a case where you aren’t able to get a conviction, that extra money might help. With the extra money, you might not see the arrest rate go up that much, but you might find that instead of arresting a smaller person, they will arrest a bigger person for a conviction.
“You might not be looking at a total number of arrests, but how important these arrests are.”
Martha Turner is the Communications Officer for the
Juvenile Justice Fund
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