Suspects walk when police don’t testify

Police officers’ failure to go to court in Baltimore last year allowed thousands of suspects, including nearly 200 charged with felonies, to walk free, according to state’s attorney’s office data.

About 2,850 suspects, many charged with such crimes as assault, drug dealing and robbery, escaped prosecution because police officers didn’t show up to testify, the data show.

Officers serve as crucial witnesses in many criminal cases, and when they fail to appear, hamstrung prosecutors have no choice but to drop charges or watch them get dismissed by a judge.

“It’s been a longstanding issue for our office, and I think it’s important to point out it’s improving, especially in the last 18 months,” said Joseph Sviatko, a spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office. “It’s an obstacle we have to face head on and then overcome.”

Officers’ absence in court has been a known problem in the city for about a decade. Prosecutors began noticing an increase in the late 1990s. From 2000 to 2001 the incidences jumped 105 percent.

The state’s attorney’s office began providing to the police department monthly reports on the number of times officers missed court, but, records show, not much changed until this past year. The number of cases lost last year because of officers’ absences from court was about 23 percent lower than the 3,700 from 2007.

Better communications

Many attribute the recent decline, which is more pronounced in gun and felony cases, to improved communication between the courts and police. In the past, officers relied on paper summons to know their court dates, and if they changed districts, the summons would go to their former office.

But the city is changing to an electronic system to better notify police. “As we move more into the digital age, the summons will be attached to the officer rather than the district to which the officer was assigned when the arrest happened,” said Sheryl Goldstein, director of the mayor’s criminal justice office.

Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III has also put greater emphasis on making sure officers go to court.

“The commissioner has made it a priority through our GunStat meetings to look at officers’ FTAs,” or Failure To Appears, said Anthony Guglielmi, spokesman for the police department. “If you ask him, he’ll probably say we’ve made great progress but we can still do better.”

Department fines officers

Robert Cherry, president of the city police union, said the primary reason for the decline is officers’ renewed commitment to getting to court. He added that the department’s threat to fine officers who don’t appear has helped lower the number of absences.

“While the union frowns on any sort of fine-based discipline, it has had the effect of cutting back on FTAs,” he said.

Officers are written up the first time they miss court in a 12-month period. The second occurrence results in a $100 fine; the third, a $150 fine; the fourth, loss of three days of leave. Officers who commit additional infractions are referred to a charging committee. The fines have not changed in several years, Cherry said.

In Baltimore County, officers’ absence from court isn’t considered a problem.

“There are a few occasions when an officer doesn’t come,” said Robin Coffin, the county’s deputy state’s attorney. “But we have a very good system set up and very good and responsive officers.”

Although city officers are doing a better job of showing up for serious cases, their absences from district court accounted for 22 percent of cases last year in which charges were dropped or dismissed. District court cases are less serious, but a conviction in them can trigger suspended sentences for suspects on probation.

“We acknowledge that this is still a problem, and it’s still a concern at the district court level,” said Sviatko, the state’s attorney’s office spokesman. “We need to continue the momentum that we’ve started here in the last 18 months.”

Mike Silvestri is a freelance reporter based in the Baltimore area. This fall he will attend the University of Baltimore School of Law.