The Virgin Islands Department of Justice is seeking nearly $26.2 million for fiscal year 2027, warning lawmakers Tuesday that persistent staffing shortages, mounting caseloads and limited resources continue to strain its ability to prosecute crimes, investigate public corruption and provide essential legal services across the territory.
Testifying before the 36th Legislature’s Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance, Attorney General Gordon Rhea said the department has made progress modernizing operations and reducing criminal case backlogs despite operating with 20 vacancies, including six attorney positions.
“As you can see, we are doing all that it’s possible we can do to do more with less,” Rhea told senators at the close of his testimony.
The department’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget totals $26.16 million, including $18.87 million from the General Fund and approximately $7.3 million in federal funding to support child support enforcement, Medicaid fraud investigations and other federally funded programs.
Staffing Shortages Continue
Much of the hearing focused on staffing shortages that Rhea said affect nearly every division of the department.
The Solicitor General’s Office, which represents the government in appeals, reviews contracts for legal sufficiency and advises boards and commissions, has shrunk dramatically over the years.
“Although the division formerly had as many as 12 attorneys, today it has only four, including the solicitor general,” Rhea said.
Despite the reduced staff, the office continues to review between 250 and 300 government contracts annually. From Oct. 1 through May 31, attorneys reviewed 123 contracts while also handling 35 appeals, 17 Public Employees Relations Board cases and a steady stream of habeas corpus petitions filed by incarcerated individuals.
Rhea said the Criminal Division also remains understaffed.
On St. Thomas and St. John, the division operates with eight attorneys, four support staff and two victim advocates — three attorneys and three support staff short of its authorized complement. The division also needs an additional victim advocate.
Since October, prosecutors in the district opened 300 new criminal cases while resolving 406, including 189 violent crimes, 82 domestic violence cases, 10 sex crimes, nine homicides and 44 illegal firearms cases.
The St. Croix Criminal Division, staffed by seven attorneys and four administrative employees, charged 263 new criminal cases and disposed of more than 300 through trials, plea agreements, dismissals and other resolutions. The division reduced its active caseload to 33 pending criminal cases while securing three significant homicide convictions resulting in sentences of life imprisonment, 30 years and 25 years.
Rhea said additional prosecutors and support staff would allow the department to reduce backlogs further, improve case processing times and provide greater support to crime victims.
The department currently has 20 vacancies, including six attorney positions. Human Resources Director Tracy Callwood told lawmakers the department has made 12 hires during the current fiscal year while processing six employee separations. Four attorney offers are currently outstanding as the department continues recruiting.
Asked about recruitment, Rhea said the department has expanded its hiring efforts but faces challenges attracting attorneys willing to relocate to the territory.
“I really want to hire as many people from the Virgin Islands as we can,” he said. “The problem is availability of potential applicants.”
Modernizing Operations
Among the department’s priorities is completing a new electronic case management system that Rhea said will significantly improve efficiency once fully implemented later this year.
The Attorney General called the system one of the department’s most important accomplishments, saying it will modernize case tracking and make information more readily available to prosecutors and staff.
Rhea also pointed to increased training opportunities through the National Association of Attorneys General and closer coordination with the Virgin Islands Police Department, including monthly meetings between prosecutors and investigators aimed at improving communication and strengthening criminal cases before they reach court.
The Attorney General also highlighted the recently enacted firearms legislation, saying the new law modernizes the territory’s firearms statutes while bringing them into compliance with recent constitutional rulings.
“It has made the actual ability to register, if you’re qualified to do so, a simpler task,” Rhea said, adding that the law also strengthens restrictions on carrying firearms in schools, government buildings and other sensitive locations.
White-collar Investigations Stretched Thin
Lawmakers expressed concern about the department’s ability to investigate public corruption and complex financial crimes, particularly after learning that the White Collar Crime and Public Corruption Unit currently consists of a single employee.
The unit, which investigates financial crimes, public corruption, Medicaid fraud and other complex cases, currently maintains 44 active investigations while having closed 25 cases during the reporting period through prosecutions, plea agreements and other resolutions.
One of its most significant recent cases involved a Medicaid fraud investigation conducted with the department’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and federal partners that resulted in charges against 11 defendants. Another investigation led to charges against a caretaker accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $130,000 from an elderly resident suffering from dementia.
Rhea acknowledged the unit needs additional investigators, financial specialists and prosecutors.
“Right now, we just don’t have the money to do it,” he said, explaining that the department relies heavily on its Special Investigations Division, the Virgin Islands Police Department’s Economic Crimes Unit and federal law enforcement partners to investigate complex public corruption cases.
