He's starting an auto theft task force and has grant money that will help pay for it. The money actually comes from our auto insurance premiums. There are about five or six active task forces at this time in Philly, Allegheny, Bucks, Lehigh, Montgomery and possibly Chester. "This is getting to be a more active area of law enforcement," he explained. He's already spent $90,000 in drug task force funds for license plate readers throughout the county, which he said exist on nearly every street in Allentown. He posits this will lead to the recovery of more stolen cars. He plans to meet with Warren and Monroe Counties to collaborate in joint operations. A full time DA and a county detective will be assigned to this task force.
He mentioned a recent raid at smoke shops selling contraband to children. "We're going to be caught up in that and further investigating that for a while." He indicated his office was receiving complaints from schools about kids getting sick because they were vaping controlled substances above the legal limit for THC. He added there are "other funny chemicals" in products being sold at these smoke shops. "It got to be a real problem," especially because "a lot of these shops are located near schools."
He has started a central court for DUI, and the result is that these cases are moving through the criminal justice system more quickly. He said most of those cases are resolved then and there.
He wants to be more involved in community engagement and is working toward that goal. He wants to send "role models" to area schools to encourage students to avoid criminal activity. He indicated that juveniles who offend also tend to continue when they are adults. "We need to get to those kids and we need to try to help them become productive."
What are the upgrades he seeks?
First, he wants to upgrade five (5) FT Assistant District Attorney 1 positions. - Baratta explained these employees have done a "ton of work," as a result of which his office is now current. He said he'd like to reward them with a raise. He said most cases that come through the DA's office, excepting complex crime, are resolved within a year from date of arraignment. He noted this he is still five Assistant DAs short. He conceded that, compared to other counties, his staffing is "rather lean, but that's OK."
Second, Baratta wants to eliminate two FT Clerical Technician 3 Positions and replace them with one FT Case Management Assistant Administrator/Data Analyst Position and one FT Paralegal/Clerical Specialist Position. - A clerical tech in his office recently graduated as a paralegal and he plans to make her more active with file management, discovery and the use of power point in a courtroom, a mystery to many older lawyers. Another clerical tech is actually designing software upgrades that will save the county hundreds of thousands of dollars. She will maintain and continue to upgrade. "We're gonna' make out like bandits," said Baratta, who should know a thing or two about bandits/
Third, the DA wants to upgrade one FT Office Supervisor Position and one FT Administrative Assistant Position.
Fourth, upgrade one FT Child Abuse Coordinator/Victim Advocate Position. He said the previous occupant of that position is one of the three who were caught up in an overtime "debacle" and is "gone." Funds for this are fully paid through a grant.
The salaries paid for these upgrades were not really discussed, and we'll see what the new salaries are at Council's meeting tonight
21 comments:
Is he doing anything to combat drug possession INSIDE the courthouse or is that specific place just lawless?
He's outright dangerous to NorCo citizens. You failed to mention that he won't cooperate with ICE. Instead of permitting a safe and orderly handoff in of criminals marked for deportation, he's released criminals onto Walnut Street, where they must be apprehended by law enforcement in a public setting, putting his citizens and LEOs lives in jeopardy. This negates anything he claims to be doing to keep us safe. He's simply extreme and extremely dangerous. Virtue signaling is fine, albeit boring. But when guys like Baratta make it dangerous, that's going too far. He does what his handler Lahoud tells him to do.
Will his employees be charged for stealing OT from the taxpayers?
Sounds like he could be doing a good job, but he's still a mean-spirited prick.
Steve is doing an excellent job.
Bernie, DA Baratta should be consulting with allentowns Dr batts about these children and crime in Northampton. Seems the stop gun violence needs more operatives to future there income management on crime.
Just because you work hard and are very effective in your public servant job is no reason for a raise. You are supposed to be good at what you do. When you reach the top of your pay scale and want higher wages, maybe it's time to move on to bigger and better things. Had a proper wage scale analysis been conducted, maybe, just maybe, it would have shown this position is underpaid and a salary increase is in order. Do the proper wage study and then make a decision.
You're nuts. Certifiable, in fact. Baratta has nothing to do with notifying ICE when an inmate is released. His job is to bag criminals and he has nothing to do with what happens to them after they are incarcerated. That decision is for Lamont McClure, and I agree 100% with his approach. He makes sure ICE is notified about every illegal they have in custody. If they want him, the jail will hold the inmate if ICE obtains a judicial warrant, which is very easy to obtain and assures that there is some neutral review. If ICE fails to obtain a warrant the county will still notify ICE of the date and time of release and they can simply wait outside the jail and pick the inmate up right as he walks out. No one is in danger except perhaps the inmate. This protects ICE's interest in deporting illegals who are criminals. It also protects the county from being sued like it was in Lehigh County when ICE botched one of its detainers.
There is nothing to see there folks, move along now lol.
That investigation is being conducted by the state, not his office. Your guess is as good as mine.
Terry go back to bed!
always was, even as a kid
I'm glad to see he went after the stores selling THC to kids near schools
That office has a legal obligation to contact victims of crimes. I am told a former ADA brought this to the attention of the current administration and she was told it doesn’t matter, repeatedly. Fast forward, the Victim Advocate Coordinator (who had legitimate overtime) was let go and now her second in command coincidentally “retired”. This has been an issue from day 1 and continues to be.
Also, these people work public servant jobs. They should expect that their salary will be lower than a private sector job. There are other benefits, like law school loan forgiveness, that come with working in the public sector, which most would agree is worth a lot more than a raise.
they did a proper wage investigation and Lori Vargo Heffer just put it in a drawer and wasted 100s of thousands of dollars for nothing
The Office of District Attorney in Northampton County, under Baratta, is the laughingstock in PA. People talk at the state level regarding the inefficiency of the "office". Baratta makes no decisions on his own, he can barely hold a conversation anymore and will never, ever look someone in the eye. Creepy Matt Falk ran from the mess he made of sexual assault cases in Lehigh over decades, where he left the new administration over there holding that messy bag. The DA's office unfortunately is a disgrace and in shambles and everyone knows it.
iF WHAT YOU ARE SAYING IS TRUE, Lori Vargo Heffner should be called to answer for her actions. This news about someone having done a wage survey is news to me. Please tell me when it was done and who did it. THANK YOU
The sad part is Falk has repeatedly made comments about how bad one of the previous ADAs of that unit, Tatum Wilson, who is now an Assistant U.S. Attorney, was at the position.
You too Sleepy Joe !
Why use that offensive term? Human beings are not illegal. They may be undocumented, or felons like Trump but they are not illegal.
Not all grant money. Find out if forfeiture money was supposed to be used for school and the person hired absolutely knows nothing about auto theft. So wouldnt say if that is doing an excellent job
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