The meeting started out with a presentation from the Marion County Prosecutor's Office. The presentation is being given by Ryan Mears 29 murder cases, 27 convictions

Mears also spoke about the new truancy law, and made clear that he is being forced to increase police interaction with schools, and described as a burden on the schools, on the police, and in the prosecutor's office. indystar.com/story/news/edu…

The total prosecutor budget for the year is just over $35 million.

The prosecutor's office next addressed the work of the Child Support Division and spoke briefly from slides about the work the division does and its goals.

The prosecutor's office is focusing on increasing equity in its work. They have consulted with scholars and legal experts to begin creating a roadmap for more equitable prosecution of crime and promoting healthy rehabilitation. They are partnering with a number of orgs.

Mears explained that the prosecutor's office is having trouble retaining talent. He said lawyers like to start in Marion County to get jury trial experience (Indy is good for this) and then, once attractive to the private sector, get hired away at wages he can't match.

Next, the Marion County Public Defender's office gave a presentation. Robert Hill is retiring and Ray Casanova is taking over. He began by describing the importance of full-time attorneys, supplemented by contractors.

Casanova said it has been difficult to retain talent due to non-competitive pay scales and residency requirements (public defenders are required by statute to reside in Marion County.) He also emphasized that the office has reimbursed the county millions of dollars.

The total budget for the office is just over $34 million. The office is also working on increasing equity. Casanova emphasized the success of bringing attorneys' and support staff's pay into parity with similarly situated workers in the prosecutor's office.

Thread continues here: https://x.com/Vevrikes/status/1826386187621466522?t=WTkx_fDfziYF8zc1HfP-Mw&s=19

Next up is Community Corrections.

The department is in the process of translating documents into Burmese and Haitian Creole, the native language of two populations the department says is chronically underserved.

They also emphasized the Welcome Home Initiative mirrorindy.org/new-indy-initi…

The department noted that the Duvall Residential Center is in need of refurbishing or, ideally, replacement. They report that maintenance of such an old facility is difficult and a hindrance to the department's goals.

With that, the meeting was adjourned at 7:23 pm.