I’ve now completed visiting each York County Republican Row Officer and each Republican State legislator for the County.  I was struck by how little contact there seems to be with the DA’s office. I was even more struck that there is no formal protocol for regular meetings between the DA’s office and our State legislators.  How can our legislators legislate effectively without regular input from the chief law enforcement officer of the County?  Nor is there a point person within the DA’s office for inquiries made by our legislators regarding citizen concerns. How can the DA insure that we are serving our citizens unless contact exists?  Lines of communication between the people’s representatives need to be established!

Yesterday, I visited the York County Child Advocacy Center at 28 South Queen St. in York. It’s a child friendly environment where children who were allegedly abused are interviewed as part of the law enforcement process. The goal is to reduce the trauma experienced by the child and I was impressed with both the facility and the folks involved.  There was one glaring deficiency-the interviews are not videotaped. It’s not that they don’t want to, instead the District Attorney’s office has instructed them not to videotape.  I want to know if an interview were somehow tainted. On the other hand, a good interview, then shown to the defendant, is the best way to insure a plea of guilty, thereby insuring the child is not further traumatized by putting that child through a trial. Surrounding counties all videotape.  It seems that in York County, advocacy wins out over justice and the needs of children.

Today’s York Daily Record reported that despite a “looming 15 million deficit” for the County budget next year, the District attorney’s Office is requesting 13 new workers, which includes 8 Assistant District Attorneys. We simply cannot afford this.  A review of my ideas section and previous blogs has suggested ways to better utilize the resources we have instead of constantly asking for more.  Efficiency, not bloat, should be the watchword of the day!