County Agencies Tremble Under the Budget Ax; Spending Plan Threatens County Law Enforcement
The budget ax unsheathed last week by Prince George's County Executive Wayne K. Curry cuts deeply into the criminal justice system, leaving law enforcement officials unable to do many of the things they once could, according to prosecutors, judges and police.</br></br>Curry's efforts to close a 1996 budget deficit of more than $100 million would cut the Circuit Court's $7.3 million budget by nearly $1 million and the state's attorney's $5.4 budget by about $800,000. The county's chief administrative judge and top prosecutor both say that the cuts will leave the courthouse unable to provide Prince George's citizenry with a full range of services.</br></br>"There's absolutely no way I can operate the office on this proposed budget," said State's Attorney Jack B. Johnson.</br></br>Johnson said that Curry's spending plan would require him to cut about 30 of the office's 120 employees, including lawyers, investigators and secretaries. At 90 employees -- 45 of them prosecutors -- the state's attorney's office would be smaller than it was a decade ago.</br></br>"The number of homicides in this county have tripled since then, and I haven't even begun to talk about attempted murder, sex abuse cases and assaults," Johnson said. "I have 50 attorneys right now and I just can't go any lower than that."