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Crimes Against Children Division reports 17,165 calls, 34% substantiation rate and prosecutor filings
Summary
Major Jeff Drew presented CACD’s Jan–Mar quarterly report: 17,165 calls received with 7,861 accepted, 1,494 cases opened, 1,633 closed and 552 substantiated (34%). CACD submitted 261 matters to prosecutors, with 67 charges filed, 46 declines and 48 pending.
Major Jeff Drew of the Arkansas State Police presented the Crimes Against Children Division quarterly oversight report to the Senate Children and Youth Committee on June 10, detailing call and case volumes, substantiation rates and prosecutorial outcomes for the quarter.
Drew reported 17,165 calls to the hotline during the quarter, with 7,861 accepted for further action. “CACD handled 1,378 of those,” he said. For the three-month period there were 1,494 cases opened and 1,633 closed; among closed cases, 552 were found true, yielding a substantiation rate of 34 percent. Drew said the division presently had 1,757 active cases, with 55 exceeding the 40/45-day completion target in the system.
On prosecutorial outcomes, Drew said the division submitted 261 matters to prosecutors; of those, 46 were declined, 67 resulted in charges filed and 48 remained pending at the time of the report.
Committee members pressed on resource and prosecutorial issues. Representative Burch asked what keeps Drew up at night; he cited call volume and ensuring investigators can do thorough work. Senator Chesterfield asked whether CACD follows up on reasons for prosecutorial declinations; Drew said prosecutors will sometimes decline cases they do not view as winnable despite CACD’s lower preponderance standard for a true finding.
Senator Clark asked whether newly funded positions were meeting demand; Drew said the additional positions helped reduce caseloads and enabled more thorough investigations, but added, “We can never have enough people to get in and get everything done.”
Representative Mayberry asked about hypothetical “COVID-19 party” incidents and whether criminal charges could apply if parents or others deliberately exposed children; Drew said CACD does not presently have a specific criminal provision but can present a failure-to-protect case to law enforcement and prosecutors for consideration.
Representatives also asked about investigator status and qualifications; Drew confirmed CACD investigators are noncommissioned (not troopers) but that they hold bachelor’s degrees in social or related fields and receive specialized training before conducting investigations.
The committee thanked Major Drew for the report and had no further questions before adjournment.
