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Prosecutor reports rising caseloads and recommended $180,000 STOP grant award
Summary
Chief Assistant Prosecutor Chris Anderson told the committee that open cases rose to 7,577 in July and that his office was recommended for a roughly $180,000 STOP grant to help fund prosecution of intimate‑partner violence cases.
Chris Anderson, chief assistant prosecutor, told the Public Safety Committee Monday that the county prosecutor’s office is handling a rising caseload and has been recommended for a grant to support prosecution of intimate‑partner violence cases.
Anderson reported 7,577 open cases in July, an increase of about 80–85 cases from June, with 357 new case referrals in July. The office charged 158 new cases and declined or diverted 152. Anderson said the prosecutor’s office handled 684 hearings in July and that the office’s attorneys ran subpoenas, sent discovery, generated writs and maintained victim contacts; he noted the workload continues to climb month to month.
Anderson highlighted a recent conviction in a child‑abuse case that stemmed from an investigation led by the sheriff’s office and his staff: a director of a childcare center in Delta Township was convicted of fourth‑degree child abuse in a June jury trial, and related charges were resolved in a separate plea this week.
The office also received a state recommendation to award a STOP (Services*Training*Officers*Prosecutors) grant of just over $180,000, Anderson said. The grant would help fund one assistant prosecutor position and offset clerical costs tied to prosecuting intimate‑partner violence cases. Anderson credited staff and grant coordinators Melissa Ballard and Assistant Prosecutor Andrea Martie for work on the application.
Anderson also thanked summer interns for helping process backlog casework and said the interns’ work reduced the office’s pending caseload pressures.
The committee did not take further action on the prosecutor’s report; Anderson requested the board’s continued support and noted the grant recommendation is subject to final award procedures.
