Baltimore state’s attorney’s strategic plan to focus on victims and witnesses, modernization of office

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The Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office published the office’s first-ever strategic plan on Tuesday aimed at creating a number of tools for victims and witnesses and modernizing aspects of the office.

The 23-page plan will guide the agency’s priorities over the next three years and “embodies the office’s commitment to justice, integrity and rebuilding the public’s trust” to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates said.

The plan focuses on five pillars: fairness, accountability, collaboration, technology-driven and “set the standard.”

Using these guidelines, the plan outlines the office’s prosecution, business and modernization priorities, including implementing a victim and witness satisfaction survey tool, developing additional prosecution diversion programs and modernizing various aspects of the office and its technology and business processes.

In an interview with The Daily Record, Bates said he’s trying to keep his campaign promises to Baltimore citizens, whom he described as shareholders who have a vested interest in the office.

“We wanted to give them a blueprint or plan of the direction we plan to take this office in the next few years,” Bates said, noting some people have lost faith in the criminal justice system. “Our job is for the victims and the witnesses who’ve been victims of crime, and what can we do to make sure we try to get them the measure of justice, (while) ensuring that we do everything to keep the community safe.”

The strategic plan, created by attorneys and support staff of the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, includes the goal to develop and implement a victim and witness satisfaction survey tool to evaluate and improve the office’s response and proactivity in meeting the needs and expectations of victims and witnesses.

The office also plans to work with law enforcement and community partners to develop additional prosecution diversion programs, in addition to existing programs like the pretrial diversion program and special courts that address issues such as veteran’s treatment, substance use recovery and mental health.

“We’re looking to divert those low-level crimes,” Bates said during a news conference on Tuesday. “That’s what I feel is one of the best ways to use the criminal justice system — not as necessarily a punishment, but sometimes people just need a hand.”

The office will also aim to redesign and modernize a number of aspects of the office, including the office’s victim and witness waiting room, as well as improve the public-facing prosecution dashboard to provide disclosable data and to move to more electronic-first policies.

Bates said witnesses testifying about a crime may become intimidated if they see family members of the person they are testifying against. The plan aims to provide separate facilities for victims and witnesses to meet with prosecutors in an effort to promote their safety and protection.

Bates said the plan, which also includes developing a trial advocacy curriculum for prosecutors and aligning the office with national prosecutorial best practice standards, will help the office avoid understaffing challenges.

The office will have filled a total of 188 prosecutor openings by September, Bates said, noting that he has hired 104 new support staff and 60 new attorneys since taking office.

“We (are trying) to do something that’s never been done in the state’s attorney office before: have a plan with variables that the community can look at to (see what the office) is doing,” Bates said.