Crown attorneys in N.L. are 'crumbling' under their workload, and it's putting the public at risk: lawyer
Shawn Patten believes Happy Valley-Goose Bay report recommendations could make workload 'untenable'
A senior Crown lawyer says provincial prosecutors in Newfoundland and Labrador are "suffocating" from overwhelming workloads — something he says is having an impact not just in the courtroom, but on the streets outside.
"You want to ensure that public safety is a priority," Shawn Patten, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Crown Attorneys Association, told CBC News.
"And right now our office is doing its best to make public safety a priority. But we're crumbling. Our foundation is crumbling."
Patten was reacting, in part, to a recent provincial report on crime in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
Justice Minister Bernard Davis ordered the review this summer, after hundreds of people assembled at the town hall to voice frustrations over what the organizer called a "crisis."
Davis accepted all six of the recommendations in that public safety review, released late last month. That included more RCMP officers for the community, and making Happy Valley-Goose Bay a "priority area" for the rollout of body-worn cameras for police.
Patten says adding more Mounties will likely lead to more investigations and more charges — and the need for more Crown lawyers in the region.
"Right now we are bursting at the seams," he said.
"We currently have five lawyers in the Happy Valley-Goose Bay office. Some of those lawyers are carrying between 200 and 300 files. To add to that would be untenable to the situation. I can tell you we are at our breaking point."
According to Patten, the introduction of body-worn cameras would also put significant stress on Crown lawyers, who would have to review hours upon hours of footage as part of their obligations to disclose evidence in criminal cases.
"We know from speaking with other jurisdictions it's a massive amount of work," he said.
The Department of Justice did not make anyone available for an interview, in response to a request sent Monday.
In a statement, the department said it recognizes the impact recommendations from the Happy Valley-Goose Bay public safety review will have on the workloads of prosecutors, while adding that providing Crown attorneys with appropriate resources is a priority and a greater emphasis has been placed on recruitment and retention efforts.
Meanwhile, Patten said Crown concerns go beyond what's happening in the Big Land.
"We need more resources. It's not just in Happy Valley-Goose Bay … all the regions across the province are in dire straits."
Association says fewer lawyers handling more files
Patten says the numbers tell the story.
In the eastern region — basically the greater St. John's area — there were about 2,500 active files back in 2012, with 29 prosecutors on the ground.
But fast forward to today, and there are more than 5,300 active files being handled by fewer Crown attorneys — only 25.
"Not only are less Crowns handling double the file load, those files now are much more complex and much more serious," Patten noted.
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He says that's left Crown lawyers "burning the midnight oil" to keep up.
"They're working into the wee hours of the morning, two to three in the morning. Why are they doing it? Because they have no choice," Patten said.
"Because they can't do the work during the day, because they're so busy in court and they're preparing for trials that they have four or five hours later. They have no choice. And they're doing it in the name of public safety."
That workload, he says, has resulted in burnout and departures that have hollowed out the ranks of the prosecution service.
"You need to have people with experience, much like you need a pilot flying a 747 that's been doing it for 30 years," Patten said.
"You don't want someone right out of pilot school flying a big jet. You need to get that experience, and that is what we're dealing with."
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In 2023, the Newfoundland and Labrador government increased salaries for Crown lawyers — the first jump in the pay scale in decades.
"You can pay someone $1 million a year, but if they don't have the time to do the work, they're going to burn out and leave. Money doesn't solve all issues," Patten said.
"The government needs to budget for more lawyers. They need to hire more people."
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