Members of the Hamilton County Concurrent Grand Jury, in a final report, recommended that a fourth Criminal Court judge be added.
The panel, headed by Jimmy Anderson, said, "A fourth judge position could reduce the overall time it takes for cases to be processed which, in turn, could relieve overcrowding (jail and workehouse) in other parts of the system.
"We believe a fourth judge is justified by the county caseload and could allow more persons to be put in the Drug Court and Mental Health Court programs."
Current judges are Barry Steelman, Don Poole and Tom Greenholtz.
The panel also recommended reopening of vocational schools.
The report says: "We recommend reopening of trade and vocational schools in high school education to provide training and develop skills for productive workforce employment beyond minimum wage jobs that are not adequate to sustain an individual trying to live independently on his/her own.
"An overwhelming percentage of the cases we heard involved gangs and/or drugs in our community. In at least 40 to 50 percentage of the cases, the age of the defendant was below 35 years. We believe that work can be a deterrent to joining gangs or getting involved in mischief and/or illegal activity and, therefore, more opportunities for work programs and employment to become a productive member of society are needed."
The Concurrent Grand Jury said a juvenile caught in a crime using a gun for the second time should have his or her cases moved to adult court.
Click here to read the reports of the Concurrent Grand Jury and the Regular Grand Jury.