Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office fully staffed for the first time in two years
Action 8 News Anchor Estee Morrison sat down with Montgomery County District Attorney Azzie Oliver to discuss her first nine months leading the office.
One change involves staffing. For the first time in two years, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office is fully staffed with prosecutors.
Oliver says there has also been a change in the type of people who are appearing in court.
“People that we are prosecuting, that are sent into prison, and just kind of watch that pipeline, they’re getting younger and younger. Fifteen, 16 years old, some 14, they’re committing violent crimes. I really wish there was something we could do about the Montgomery public school system.”
Oliver says she’s focused on addressing youth crime, improving school attendance and reducing case backlogs in the courts.
“I understand the juvenile system is to rehabilitate, and I get that, but once your child steals a cookie and you don’t correct them, they’re going to steal it again. So we’re not correcting those children while they are young.”
Oliver says truancy and the lack of early intervention programs are fueling crime among juveniles.
“I think we need to start holding parents accountable, especially when you think about an elementary student, they don’t get themselves dressed and get themselves to school. So look at holding parents accountable. I’ve met with Judge Calvin Williams, a presiding judge in juvenile court. So we’re going to look at doing some things to change how we prosecute those cases and to do better.”
The DA’s office is partnering with the Kiwanis Club to give free tickets to the upcoming Alabama National Fair to every third-grade student in Montgomery Public Schools who has no unexcused absences for the first nine weeks. She says reaching students early is critical.
“I think third grade, I’ve gone into the school systems in classes for fifth grade, and what I realized they have been exposed to so much in the community and so much when they go home that we need to catch them at an earlier age. We need to teach them that law enforcement, people that work at the fire department, are there to help, not your enemies, and it’s all about what they’re exposed to as home is what’s getting us here, Montgomery.”
Oliver is also focused on getting criminal cases to trial in a more timely manner.
“We have about 23 prosecutors. The majority of those prosecutors are in our criminal trials, in our homicide unit. They could carry anywhere from two to 300 cases at a time. Those cases are always in a different stage. Some may be pending grand jury, some may be the preliminary hearing stage. Some may be being set for trial and getting ready for trial, and some maybe we’re sentencing, but there’s always this revolving door of cases that are coming in. So it’s really hard work. There’s a lot of stress.”
