Iron County's legal and victim-support agencies briefed the commission on caseload trends and service activity, reporting higher prosecution volumes and a marked increase in child forensic interviews and victim assistance.

County Attorney Chad Dodson told commissioners that prosecutors have reviewed 1,737 cases for criminal prosecution and that filings include 668 district court cases, 709 justice court cases and 76 juvenile delinquency cases. He said the office reviewed about 242 more cases compared with the same time last year and that the office prosecuted several recent felony cases, including a first-degree conviction under Utah's habitual violent offender statute.

Dodson also described a recent jury trial that ended in a not-guilty verdict after four days. He said jurors provided constructive feedback to prosecutors and that the experience was valuable for newer attorneys in the office.

Nick Hewlett, director of the Children's Justice Center (CJC), reported increases in interviews and therapeutic services. He said the CJC performed 89 interviews in the first quarter of the current grant cycle and is averaging about 24 interviews per month this year, up from a 2021–2024 monthly average of about 18.6 interviews. Hewlett said the CJC is on pace for more than 300 interviews this year and that the center paid for 166 therapy sessions for clients during a recent quarter.

Victim services staff reported that between July and September the program served 196 clients, up from 148 the previous quarter; domestic violence and sexual assaults (both child and adult) were among the most common victimizations noted. Staff described emergency assistance provided in one case to retrieve a client's vehicle from Colorado and restore immediate access to work. The program also reported a successful site visit and grant audit by the Utah Office for Victims of Crime, which found no issues and noted good recordkeeping.

Why it matters: County leaders said the rising caseloads and higher interview volumes have operational implications for staffing, tracking and interagency coordination. Commissioners asked for better tracking of cases tied to group homes and similar facilities to understand resource impacts.

What’s next: Prosecutors and CJC staff agreed to draft more disaggregated reports on cases tied to group homes and other residential facilities and to coordinate with law enforcement to use incident codes in Spillman to improve tracking.