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Essex County prosecutor outlines caseload growth, staffing gains and grant uncertainty in budget hearing
Summary
Essex County Prosecutor Stevens told commissioners the office handled higher case volume in 2024 while homicides remained essentially flat. He described progress raising starting assistant prosecutor pay and recruiting via university internship pipelines, but flagged possible short-term grant delays from the federal executive order.
Essex County Prosecutor Stevens told county commissioners on the second night of budget hearings that the office saw a substantive rise in filings in 2024 even as homicides stayed roughly level.
Stevens said the number of cases started in 2024 rose to 13,729 from 12,158 in 2023 while the number of cases disposed rose to about 14,650 from 12,500, reflecting a heavier workload and increased court capacity that the office has been working to absorb.
The prosecutor emphasized recruitment and retention as priorities. Stevens said the office raised its starting assistant prosecutor salary to $71,000 and has bolstered internship partnerships with Pace University and Seton Hall to create a feeder pipeline; he said the office had filled most of nine entry-level slots while continuing to hire laterally where needed.
Stevens credited technology and staffing changes with reducing backlogs and speeding case processing, citing expanded use of body-worn cameras, license-plate readers and document management. "We've cut down on paper dramatically," he told commissioners.
On grants and federal funds, Stevens said the office is watching federal guidance after an executive order that temporarily paused some federal disbursements. He said most law-enforcement grants are routed through the New Jersey Attorney General's Office and that the county expects the suspension to be temporary; if funds remain delayed the office would identify nonrecurring savings or ask for adjustments.
Stevens also described salary-and-contract pressures: recent negotiated increases (police and bargaining-unit contracts and assistant-prosecutor raises) will raise his salary-and-wage line for 2025, and he said the office plans to increase support-paraprofessional hiring to handle expanded caseloads, such as expungement work.
The prosecutor and his management team answered commissioners' questions about vacancy timing (lengthy background checks and academy requirements), the distribution of judges (19 criminal-justice judges now on the roster), and the office's relative pay competitiveness with other New Jersey counties. "We would love to see no crime," Stevens said, describing how trial volume gives junior prosecutors earlier courtroom experience.
Looking ahead, Stevens said he expects to request continued support for recruitment, support staff, and temporary contingency for contract-driven increases while maintaining efforts to improve timeliness and case disposition.
Ending: Commissioners thanked Stevens and his staff for the presentation and asked administration staff to monitor possible short-term grant impacts to county programming and budgeting.
