Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney

Public Data Dashboard

Introduction

The data presented in this dashboard pertains to adult felony cases and offenders.  The Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney provides the data to ensure transparency in the cases filed and prosecuted by its Office.  The data is regularly reviewed and provided to the public on an annual basis.  Data trends will also be provided year-to-year.  Please note that there are legal and ethical limitations on certain types of data that can be released to the public.  Therefore, there will be no access to data or personal identifying information provided involving individuals who encounter the criminal justice system.  If you have questions, please e-mail dekalbda@dekalbcountyga.gov.

Prosecutor’s Role

District Attorney Sherry Boston is the highest prosecutor in DeKalb County, elected to oversee the prosecution of criminal cases within the county. The Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney employees Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) to effectuate the prosecution of criminal cases. The American Bar Association’s Rule 3.8 states that a prosecutor shall not prosecute a charge that is not supported by the evidence and shall ensure that the accused has been advised of the person’s constitutional rights, among other responsibilities.

Progress of a Criminal Case

Criminal cases begin with incident.  Thereafter, a warrant for the offender’s arrest is obtained from the Magistrate Court.  Law enforcement officers may make an arrest at the scene but must secure a warrant within 24-48 hours thereafter.  Within 72 hours, the arrested person will have a Felony First Appearance hearing in Magistrate Court.  The arrested person may, under certain circumstances, have a preliminary hearing.

Once the case is received by the District Attorney’s Office, it is assigned to an investigator and an assistant district attorney.  After review, a person’s case may be recommended for diversion or for presentment to a grand jury.  Certain cases may also proceed by felony accusation which means that charges are filed without the need to present the case to a grand jury.  In rare circumstances, particularly where there is insufficient evidence to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt, the offender’s case may be declined for prosecution.  If a case is true billed by the grand jury it is assigned to one of the ten Superior Court judges where legal proceedings continue until the case is resolved.

Court Proceedings

Offense Groups

Because cases can, and often do, contain more than one crime, the data provided reports on the general offense categories using a hierarchy system.  This means that the data is categorized by the most serious offense.  The categories of crime are listed as follows:

  • Homicide
  • Human Trafficking
  • Crimes Against Children
  • Sex Crimes
    • Crimes Against Children
  • Conspiracy and Gang
  • Crimes Against Animals
  • Crimes Against People
    • Domestic Violence
  • Weapons
  • Drugs
  • Theft
    • Serious Theft
  • Fraud
  • Citation
  • Other

Units and Divisions

The statistical data provided in this dashboard pertains to some of the Units and Divisions in the office that prosecute cases.  Not every Unit/Division will have statistical data within graphs in this dashboard.

Available Reports