PROSECUTORS NEED CASH TO ENFORCE TOUGH LAWS

TALLAHASSEE -- After years of seeing the state approve tougher penalties and
mandatory sentences for criminals, top Florida prosecutors and
law-enforcement officials say the laws are tough enough.

What they want from state lawmakers, they say, is enough money to vigorously
enforce the sentencing laws already on the books.

"We've got all the laws we need for going after the really bad people, the
big-time drug dealers, the people who commit crimes against kids," said
veteran prosecutor Bruce Colton, who heads legislative planning for the
Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association. "We've got good laws and laws
that provide enough prison time."

The new approach represents a significant shift in a state where officials
from the governor on down have long pushed for tougher mandatory sentencing
laws, such as "10-20-Life" and "three strikes" laws.

The state's new top law-enforcement official, Guy Tunnell, echoes the call
for a change. Tunnell, a former Bay County sheriff recently appointed to
head the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said he sees no need to push
for tougher sentences.

Florida's overall crime rate already is at a 30-year low and dipped again
slightly in new figures.

With successful efforts to strengthen mandatory sentencing, the pendulum has
swung to a point where officials can now focus on enforcement and educating
the public to prevent crime, Tunnell said.

"I think we're doing OK," Tunnell said in an interview. "I'm not necessarily
promoting stiffer penalties than we've got right now. Dealing with the
issues we're dealing with, I think we're well-equipped at this point. We
have the legislation. We have the laws. We have the sentencing
capabilities."

But money is another matter.

Tunnell, who battled for a bigger budget with county officials as a sheriff,
said he also is focused on getting adequate funding for FDLE salaries and
training.

"We've got to remain competitive if we want to keep our senior, experienced
personnel and hold on to that knowledge and strength that they have,"
Tunnell said.

Prosecutors around the state also plan to push state lawmakers for
significant funding to offset years of budget cutting and to try to stem the
loss of young attorneys eroding their staffs.

"We're three budget cuts down from September 11," said Willie Meggs,
president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association. Simply restoring
money cut in those three years would cost $7 million and proposed pay
increase would cost another $13 million, Meggs said.

Some prosecutors argue that politically popular mandatory sentencing laws,
which have clogged state courts and prisons, have simply gone too far.

"We've got too many mandatory penalties as far as I'm concerned," said
Colton, who has been the state attorney for almost two decades in Fort
Pierce, prosecuting crimes in a four-county area. "I think you'll find most
or all of the prosecutors feel that way, and that's why we didn't ask for
more enhanced penalties this year."

Mandatory sentences add many extra burdens, Colton said.

"The Legislature has been very good at passing mandatory sentences and
making felonies out of misdemeanors, and they've really clogged up the
system," he said. "As they passed these laws, they didn't provide more money
for more prosecutors and more judges, and it increases our caseload."

Some state lawmakers plead guilty as charged.

"It's true," said Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. "They ought to bang on
us."

The desire to look "tough on crime" can often drive elected legislators,
just like elected state prosecutors, he said.

"What makes good politics doesn't always make good policy," said Gelber, a
former federal prosecutor who serves on a House judicial appropriations
committee.

The criminal justice system is a delicate balance of funding for judges,
prosecutors, probation officers and prison beds, and it is easy to throw it
out of whack, Gelber said. Lawmakers this year approved building 4,000 more
prison beds but not enough for prosecutors, he said.

Unfortunately, Gelber said the state budget outlook is not bright to improve
funding.

"It's going be another hard year, and one of the things we're especially
loath to do is add more recurring expenses like salaries," he said.

A constitutional amendment that takes effect next year to shift many court
costs from counties to the state has added to the budget pressure, Meggs
said. The measure, known as Article V, was passed several years ago but
becomes a reality in July 2004.

"It's been like, 'We'll deal with that next year' and now next year is
here," Meggs said. "It's kind of like the class-size amendment."

That's one reason, money -- not tougher laws -- has become the main focus
for the group, Colton said.

"We've all tried to make do," he said. "Our biggest priority is restoring
our cuts instead of cutting us again. All we get is more mandatory sentences
without support to handle those cases."