City says D.A.’s office not responsive to local needs

Both the police chief and city manager expressed ongoing frustration with the District Attorney’s office in how it handles Petersburg’s caseload.

According to a memo presented at Monday’s council meeting the case dismissal rate has gone from 18% in 2005 to 38% in 2011. According to the memo, “this does not include a multitude of plea bargains that in our opinion were too lenient.”

After having a 30% case dismissal rate in 2010 the city met with the district attorney and had a promise of improved service from the office.

City Manager Steve Giesbrecht wrote, “We are not sure of the next steps at...