Solicitor Stumbo Shares Insights with Criminal Justice Students
The devil truly is in the details when it comes to the pursuit of justice. That鈥檚 the most poignant message 8th Judicial Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo shared with aspiring law enforcement officers recently at 91爆料 (PTC).
鈥淩ight now, law enforcement is undergoing a great deal of scrutiny,鈥 Stumbo told the group of criminal justice students. 鈥淭hat is not necessarily a bad thing. By the same token, you need to make sure you get out there and do things the right way鈥 because even the most diligent efforts to follow protocol perfectly can fall short.
Evidence collection is a very precise exercise, and every detail is important, he noted. Investigators must take the extra time to label items completely, carefully 鈥 and legibly, keep strict track of the chain of custody for every piece of evidence, and thoroughly vet available witnesses early while events are fresh in their minds.
鈥淲e are the end of the line for cases made by law enforcement agencies,鈥 Stumbo continued. 鈥淲hen an arrest is made, basically within 10-15 days, it comes to the Solicitor鈥檚 Office. We set up a case file and assign a prosecutor.鈥
Stumbo noted that, by the very nature of the justice system, there is a lapse of time between when an incident occurs and when it goes to court.
鈥淵ou may be on the stand testifying as a witness. It will be hard to remember exact details,鈥 he said. 鈥淢ake sure it鈥檚 in the report. You will need that at the end of the day.鈥
鈥淚 can鈥檛 stress enough how important it is to get details about what happened,鈥 he said. 鈥淏y the time your case goes to court, it may be six months down the road, and you are trying to remember some details. If you don鈥檛 put them in the incident report, you can鈥檛 remember them. 鈥
Also, you will be responding to many cases at the same time. As soon as you can, get all the details on paper.鈥
Stumbo鈥檚 sound advice gave students much to think about.
鈥淚t is tough going into this field. These days it can be an uphill battle working in law enforcement,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut this is a good field, and you can be proud to enter it.鈥
PHOTO: 8th Judicial Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo addresses PTC criminal justice students.