Prosecutors are critical to public safety. Florida lawmakers should pay them more | Opinion
No one would argue with the premise that public safety is the foremost responsibility of state, county and city governments. When our residents feel afraid to walk our streets, our community can fall into despair and apathy. As Miami-Dade state attorney and the chief law-enforcer, I have worked hard with our law enforcement partners to ensure that will not happen.
My team, working in partnership with our local police departments, courts and other stakeholders deserve credit for overcoming the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID and the post pandemic period. The Medical Examiner’s data indicates that we had 16% fewer homicides in 2023 than 2019, the lowest number since 2005, and the second lowest number since 1982.
Our success is particularly impressive considering the county’s population has grown more than 70% since 1982. Sadly, increased numbers of homicides occurred in other major urban jurisdictions when comparing 2023 and 2019, places like Chicago, up 23%, or New York, up 21%. We have succeeded where others failed.
I am proud that we continued to make progress in spite of losing 156 prosecutors in the past two years and attorney vacancy rates approaching 35% during the summers. We greatly appreciate the raises the Florida Legislature recently provided; however, we need them to do more to make up for decades of neglect and our skyrocketing costs of living. We simply cannot recruit enough qualified and talented individuals willing to accept current salaries.
I am concerned that we may be at a tipping point. In order to continue protecting our community, we must rebuild our workforce.
Our current high vacancy rate forces remaining attorneys and staff to handle more cases than normal, increasing burnout and further undermining retention. Our felony division chiefs, who are responsible for supervising three prosecutors and their hundreds of cases, often handle more than 40 homicide cases at a time.
Our employment crisis prevents us from filling positions in critical crime-fighting units, including the Career Criminal Unit, Gang Unit, Gun Violence Unit, Narcotics Unit, Organized Crime Unit and Public Corruption Unit.
High turnover also results in attorneys handling serious cases beyond their capabilities. Victims and witnesses also become discouraged by the delays and often abandon the prosecution of cases. If we do not raise prosecutor salaries to a more realistic level, our office will continue to shrink, hampering our ability to provide the services our community has gotten used to, needs, and deserves.
Miami infamously was described as a “Paradise Lost” in the 1980’s when the cocaine cowboys ran wild, causing crime to spiral out of control. It took years for us to reclaim our community and international reputation, but we persevered. Today, people flock to our beaches and are moving here from all over the world. Miami is once again recognized as the paradise it is — a place where people can live, work, and play in safety. Let’s make sure it stays that way.
When I traveled to Tallahassee this session, I met and spoke with legislators including members of the Dade delegation, the speaker designate and the appropriations chair, as well as the governor’s and attorney general’s offices.
Fortunately, they understood our issues and responded supportively. Nonetheless, they also need to hear from the public that public safety is critical to our community. I ask you to join me in encouraging the Legislature to provide the funding we need to continue our great work and protect you, your friends, and families.
Katherine Fernandez Rundle is the state attorney for Miami-Dade County.
