DeKalb district attorney asks committee to fund 13 positions, warns of digital-forensics and grand-jury backlog
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Summary
District Attorney Sherry Boston asked the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee to fund 13 positions ($1,262,942) to sustain a grant-funded human-trafficking investigator, expand a digital forensics unit, add HR and receptionist capacity, and strengthen the grand-jury team amid rising indictments.
District Attorney Sherry Boston told the DeKalb County Finance, Audit and Budget Committee that her office needs 13 additional positions and related equipment at a total fiscal impact of $1,262,942 to keep up with increased case loads and time-sensitive investigative work.
Boston said she had pared an initial request of 20 positions to what she described as the most critical 13. Key requests include continuing a grant-funded human-trafficking investigator (the federal grant was described as expiring in the coming months), adding two operations positions (a legal office coordinator and a systems analyst), five analysts for a digital forensics unit, an HR position, an additional receptionist to handle nearly 40,000 annual public interactions, and three staff to support grand jury operations.
On digital forensics, Boston said the unit processed 343 case requests and more than 1,200 warrants in 2025 and that many of the tools and licenses (for platforms such as Cellebrite and similar forensic vendors) require annual certification, ongoing training and significant software costs; she said equipment and licenses account for roughly half of the enhancement cost ($232,000 discussed for equipment/licenses in the request).
Boston also said grand-jury filings were up — she cited an increase of 668 indictments or accusations over the past year — and asked for three positions to reduce the time between arrest and charging documents. She said some staff growth reflects a larger office: more than 300 employees and increasing responsibilities that include state-employment functions.
Commissioners asked follow-up questions about benefit inclusion (Boston confirmed total costs include benefits), grant expiration timing and whether forensic purchases must route through county IT (Boston said the investigative equipment is specialized and procured directly). Boston said she will provide any additional documents requested and coordinate with committee members ahead of final budget decisions.
The committee did not take a vote on the DA's request at the meeting and asked for additional details before the next budget deliberation.
