Since Bexar County prosecutors started working overtime in late November, the number of pending felony criminal cases in the county’s backlog has decreased by 11%, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The “high risk intake team,” 45 assistant district attorneys who volunteered, have been reviewing cases involving violent crime and repeat offenders after normal working hours and during the weekend to chip away at a backlog of 6,330 cases, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales told Commissioners Court on Tuesday.
The backlog now stands at 5,647 cases, Gonzales said. “The [High Risk Felony Backlog Reduction Plan] has been a huge success and it would not be possible without the hard work of our prosecutors.”
On average, each of the 45 prosecutors took on about 30 additional cases and worked nearly 20 additional hours over the past three months for a total of 1,311 cases reviewed and 895 hours.
Cases reviewed between Jan. 1 and Feb. 9 increased by 50% to 3,334 compared to 2,223 during the same period last year, Gonzales said.
After a string of shootings last summer involving people with criminal records that left six police officers injured and three suspects dead, Commissioners Court approved a plan in November to use the salaries of unfilled prosecutor positions to fund overtime work on cases involving violent crime and repeat offenders. That amounted to about $298,400. So far, about $38,000 has been spent on the overtime initiative.
“We are still see staffing shortages,” Gonzales said, but his office has been able to retain more attorneys because of salary increases in May.
A shooting spree in December that spanned Austin and San Antonio — which police say was committed by a man out on bail with active warrants for his arrest — again sparked questions about the justice system’s efficiency, gun control and broader need for mental health resources.
In January, the City of San Antonio and Bexar County released a community-wide Public Safety Action Plan to reduce violent offenses committed by people who have previously committed crimes.
As part of that plan, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said he will be “pushing hard” for badly needed technology upgrades within jail intake, court and evidence systems.
“I’m hoping that those are all other pieces of the puzzle that make our system stronger,” Sakai said.
