Juggling the old & the new
By Debbie Lowe

Not a regret! Newly elected county prosecutor Trish Thompson has no regrets about assuming the responsibilities to serve the people of Carroll County from that position. Happy in her new office, Thompson is eager to take a bite out of crime for the next four years. Comet photo by Debbie Lowe

By the end of her first three weeks as Carroll County prosecutor, Trish Thompson was handed a rolling methamphetamine lab, two shootings, a rash of graffiti, and two house fires. Not to mention the usual cases of forgeries, traffic cases and others, which are what provide busy work for the prosecutor's office.

This all must be juggled with the challenge of sorting out and learning the details of two boxes of cases she inherited when she took office Jan. 1. Thompson said it is natural for cases to be left from one administration to the next due to the nature of the needs of each case.

"I have to learn about those cases and make some decisions about how to proceed with them," she said. "This all takes my attention. Situations change as investigations age and I want to do what needs to be done with what comes in the door and what was here when I got here."

Thompson said the most rewarding aspect to her new position so far has been that she has reconnected with police officers she worked with when she was the chief deputy prosecutor in the county in 2004.

The only true surprise Thompson noted in assuming her prosecutorial duties was her growing fondness of the blackberry given to her when she became prosecutor.

However, she said she was not surprised by the recent graffiti incident or the attempted homicide one week later.

"It's sad, but not surprising," she said. "The growing drug and violence problems in the community make a shooting less of a surprise."

There have been some physical changes to the prosecutor's office, which indicate a change in office ambiance and duty structure. Thompson moved chief deputy Christine Smith into her office, which was formerly the prosecutor's private office. The move created a space with a table and chairs for police and other visitors to do paperwork or conference with others in the outer office.

Thompson is also searching for a second secretary to help with the clerical workload.

Thompson explained she prefers the team approach to case assignment. Cases will be distributed evenly between her and Smith. Both will handle juvenile, superior court, night court (traffic) and circuit court cases. She said the goal is to even out the workload between the two positions.

One of Thompson's campaign promises was to stay in touch with police officers and community members on a regular basis. To that end, the prosecutor said she will host county-wide officers' meetings throughout the year. The first one will be in February. Thompson said she wants to improve the working relationship between the prosecutor's office and law enforcement and she wants to provide legal updates to the officers. She said she intends to gather officer input to help the communication process.

"The goal of the meetings will be to open communication," she said. "I will also be introducing the new chief deputy prosecutor to any officer who she hasn't already met."

Thompson said she would host community-member forums for most of the same reasons, except the emphasis would be on gathering civilian input and providing legal updates in a manner the general public can easily understand.

"I really want to establish communication with my office," she said.

Thompson intends to satisfy statutory requirements to victims by increasing services to them.

"Those duties have not been met in the past," she said.

One way to accomplish the goal is to ensure all crime victims are notified of upcoming dates for court and reviews. Thompson said she also intends to work closely with business owners to help recover funds from bad checks.

Thompson said she would like to find grant money to pay for an additional staff person to provide those and other advocacy services. She said the position may not materialize this year due to the time it takes to find grants and then write proposals. However, she will continue to search for funds until the goal is met.

"But I won't be asking the council to pay for that position," she said.

Looking to the future when the newness of the office has worn off and she has implemented, or at least planned for, those programs she intends to support, Thompson said she will still have the hunger to do the job with gusto.

"I'm a very hard worker," Thompson said. "I have total dedication to do a good job for this county."

"I have a strong desire to stand up to wrongs," she continued. "I have the strength to stand up for victims and do all I can to make things right. Offensive cases make me want to fix it for the victim the most."

"The cases that turn my stomach the most are the crimes against children," she finished. "I have the strongest desire to right that particular wrong."