Criminal justice reforms costing municipalities additional expenses

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KINGSTON – The state’s criminal justice reforms require, among other provisions that law enforcement provide discovery information in criminal cases within 15 days.

That is putting a financial burden on many municipalities that must hire additional staff.

In the City of Kingston, Police Chief Egidio Tinti needs a full-time clerk to handle the paperwork, and he asked the common council’s Finance Committee Wednesday night for over $30,000 to cover the cost of that new hire just through the rest of this year.

“It’s 15 days; there is some leniency depending upon the court case,” he said. “The volume of information we have to deliver to the DA’s office and ultimately to the defense attorneys is unbelievable anymore. You talk about a particular scene of a domestic. You have three body cam videos, at least, plus all the paperwork,” he said.

Police across the state say they are having a difficult time keeping up with the requirements of the criminal justice law.




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