FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — As rising crime continues to remain a high concern for many Fairfax County residents, a county supervisor is calling on the county’s top prosecutor to provide more information to the public on the outcomes of all cases.
Some Democrats and Republicans have criticized Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano for being soft on crime. Descano has proudly campaigned on being a progressive prosecutor.
Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity wants Descano to show the public how he handles cases.
Last week, Descano announced a new data dashboard on the Fairfax County website that shows arrest demographic information, case categories, and case types.
“I think it’s excellent, “said Dave LaBahn who is the President and CEO of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. “One of our national strategies has been to get prosecutors to move away from being the black box in the criminal justice system to be able to show to their communities and others that are interested, what does that office do.”
Descano said he’s providing unprecedented transparency.
But, Herrity points out that the data Descano is providing on the Fairfax County website is nothing new and the Fairfax County Police Department has been providing this information for years on the Fairfax County Police Department’s website.
“Police have been doing this for a long time,” said Herrity. “What I’d like to see is what Commonwealth’s Attorney Descano has done with the cases he’s provided by the police.”
7News asked Descano if he would publish data online that shows how many cases he’s won and lost in court, how many misdemeanors and felonies has his office dropped, how many convictions he has secured, and more. It’s been almost a week and Descano has not answered these questions.
But 7News does have some insight into case trends in Descano’s office.
7News received information in a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request that shows in Descano’s first three years in office, fewer felony cases were sent to trial, more felony charges were dismissed and dropped, and there have been fewer guilty verdicts on felony charges compared to his predecessor’s final three years in office even though several categories of major crimes were up in Fairfax County.
Herrity has this blunt assessment:
“Descano prosecutes fewer cases, and to losers more cases. I mean, that that tells you just how bad a job the Commonwealth attorney of today’s doing,” he said.
Over the past week, 7News has been asking Descano for an interview on this topic, but his office has not responded to 7News’ interview requests. This isn’t the first time Descano has dodged interview requests from 7News.
But Descano has supporters, too.
Measures for Justice is another organization that has supported Descano’s case overview dashboard.
“We’re extremely proud that, as part of a multi-year partnership, we’ve helped the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office become a preeminent force in criminal justice data and transparency,” said Measures for Justice.
“Transparency among prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, and the communities they serve is an indispensable component of reforming the criminal legal system and maintaining public trust in the equal provision of justice for all,” said Miriam Krinsky, the Executive Director of Fair and Just Prosecution Fair and Just Prosecution. “We applaud the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney for the work he and his office have done to compile data dashboards and use that critical information to make needed changes in practices and policies, assess the impact of reforms, and provide transparency to the community at large.”