Livingston County District Attorney Greg McCaffrey has been in office just over a month and he's already looking to change how the DA's office functions.
"I almost feel as if my office is overstaffed," he told county supervisors at a Public Services Committee meeting Monday in Geneseo.
McCaffrey noted the office had five full time lawyers in 2006, but since that time has added one and a half attorneys while crime rates have remained mostly stable. He explained he's not ready to reduce staff yet, in light of what he described as a "young and inexperienced" office; however, he said he may look at staffing levels later in 2012.
He went on to explain that he wants to get the DA and assistants into local courts to prosecute felonies. Under previous DA's that work had been handled by other attorneys in the office while the DA and assistants focused exclusively on cases in the county court.
McCaffrey also said he expects to reduce the number of vehicles in the DA's fleet, currently two sedans and a large SUV. But six years ago, the DA's office relied on personal vehicles.
"I'm still a little uncertain as to how and why," he said of the increased number of vehicles, though he admitted one or maybe two vehicles might make sense, particularly since attorneys occasionally transport crime victims to court appearances.
But that SUV — a Chevrolet Tahoe — is a vehicle McCaffrey said he has driven twice since taking office six weeks ago, and former DA Tom Moran drove nearly daily. The county Ways and Means Committee recently completed a review of how county vehicles are used and set a new policy clamping down on the use of county vehicles for commuting and other personal uses.
A third area McCaffrey wants to change is how cell phones are used in the office, where his answer can be summed up in one word: more. He explained that assistant DAs and other attorneys need to be able to be reached on a 24/7 basis and it's often easier for an attorney to respond to an email while in court than to answer a phone call.
The DA said the office needed to have phones with the capability to handle county email, but he does not care whether that happens on personal phones with costs for data reimbursed to employees or through phones issued through the county.
Livingston County District Attorney Greg McCaffrey has been in office just over a month and he's already looking to change how the DA's office functions.
"I almost feel as if my office is overstaffed," he told county supervisors at a Public Services Committee meeting Monday in Geneseo.
McCaffrey noted the office had five full time lawyers in 2006, but since that time has added one and a half attorneys while crime rates have remained mostly stable. He explained he's not ready to reduce staff yet, in light of what he described as a "young and inexperienced" office; however, he said he may look at staffing levels later in 2012.
He went on to explain that he wants to get the DA and assistants into local courts to prosecute felonies. Under previous DA's that work had been handled by other attorneys in the office while the DA and assistants focused exclusively on cases in the county court.
McCaffrey also said he expects to reduce the number of vehicles in the DA's fleet, currently two sedans and a large SUV. But six years ago, the DA's office relied on personal vehicles.
"I'm still a little uncertain as to how and why," he said of the increased number of vehicles, though he admitted one or maybe two vehicles might make sense, particularly since attorneys occasionally transport crime victims to court appearances.
But that SUV — a Chevrolet Tahoe — is a vehicle McCaffrey said he has driven twice since taking office six weeks ago, and former DA Tom Moran drove nearly daily. The county Ways and Means Committee recently completed a review of how county vehicles are used and set a new policy clamping down on the use of county vehicles for commuting and other personal uses.
A third area McCaffrey wants to change is how cell phones are used in the office, where his answer can be summed up in one word: more. He explained that assistant DAs and other attorneys need to be able to be reached on a 24/7 basis and it's often easier for an attorney to respond to an email while in court than to answer a phone call.
The DA said the office needed to have phones with the capability to handle county email, but he does not care whether that happens on personal phones with costs for data reimbursed to employees or through phones issued through the county.
The subject raised some eyebrows among the committee and County Administrator Ian Coyle said he would work with McCaffrey to find a solution that met the DA's needs as well as fit within the county's cell phone policy.
Finally, McCaffrey reported he has already taken steps to streamline prosecutions and cut down on the number of court appearances.
"I think we have a lot more cases being settled in a shorter amount of time," he said. Among other changes, the DA explained he is sending more cases directly to grand juries. Previously, cases went to local courts first, but that meant an extra appearance for defendants, prosecutors, law enforcement and others involved in the case.
In all cases, McCaffrey said cases are getting handled faster, a move he said will reduce appearances, particularly when cases are settles without going to trial.
