Republican candidates for Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins • Resides: Brunswick. • Marital status and immediate family: Married for 42 years to Virginia Higgins; four children, all of whom were raised in Brunswick. • Elected offi ce: District Attorney for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit since January 2021. • Education: U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 1977-84. Bachelor of Science in political science from Kennesaw College, 1983. Juris Doctorate from the Walter F. George School of Law at M e r c e r University, 1986. • Occupation and employer: District Attorney for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, state of Georgia. • Church and community affi liations: Member of Community Church Introductory Statement It has been my privilege to serve as your District Attorney since January 2021. As District Attorney, my highest priority has always been to make our communities a safer place for us to live, work and raise our families. To achieve this goal, I have made sure that our prosecutors work closely with law enforcement during their investigations and provide them with advice and direction when requested. By doing this, we have been able to effectively prosecute cases. Since my election in 2021, we have indicted or accused more than 4,000 criminal cases, and we have convicted more than 3,500 criminals, with a 99% conviction rate. I also have provided technology and training to our law enforcement agencies, so our police officers are better equipped to identify criminals, apprehend them and collect the evidence that is needed to convict them. To address violent gangs, I provided a cloud-based software platform to all law enforcement agencies in the Brunswick Circuit, which they can use to compile investigative case files on gang crimes, compile information on gang members and share their information with other law enforcement agencies. I provided training to our police officers on report writing, courtroom testimony and demeanor, child abuse, and the identification of gangs and their membership. Within the next month, I will be providing training on Gang Investigation and Prosecution: Best Practices, which will allow our police officers and prosecutors to train together and increase their ability to effectively investigate, document and prosecute gang crimes. I will soon be providing additional resources to law enforcement by obtaining surveillance equipment and making it available for them to use in their investigations. I also will be providing them with access to technology that will create photographic lineups they can use to identify those who have committed a crime. What do you believe is the root cause of crime and how do you plan to address it as district attorney? The reason a person chooses to commit a crime varies from person to person and depends on their individual motivations. When it is appropriate, we try to reduce the likelihood that a person will commit other crimes by addressing these motivations as a condition of any sentence that is imposed. In the Brunswick Circuit, we have Drug Court, which is an accountability court that addresses substance abuse. When an individual commits a crime that is motivated by their abuse of controlled substances, they may be allowed to plead guilty and enter our Drug Court program, which then addresses their substance abuse issues. If an individual does not enter the Drug Court program, we still address their substance abuse issues by requiring drug screens, treatment and counseling in any sentence that is imposed. Sometimes, a person may commit a crime as a result of a mental or psychological problem. When it is determined that an offender has a mental or psychological issue, we will address those issues in their sentence when it is appropriate to do so. When a person commits a serious crime or is a habitual criminal, however, their reason for committing the crime becomes less of a factor for us, and we will let the Department of Corrections deal with their issues. What is the biggest issue facing the District Attorney’s office and how do you plan to address it? The backlog of criminal cases is the biggest issue facing the District Attorney’s Office. The backlog exists because of our population growth, increase in crime and COVID-19. As District Attorney, I have worked with the five county commissions in our circuit and obtained grants to increase the number of full-time prosecutors in our circuit by 70%. I also have contracted with other attorneys to work on a parttime basis to handle matters, such as Drug Court and asset forfeiture cases, that do not require jury trials. This has allowed our full-time prosecutors to concentrate on the cases that can only be resolved by a trial or guilty plea. With these efforts, we have been able to resolve more cases and reduce the backlog, with a conviction rate of 99%. Our prosecutors, however, still have an average caseload that is more than twice what they should be handling. I will work with our legislators and the governor to seek funding for additional prosecutors so we can move these cases through the courts more efficiently. How do you plan to work with law enforcement officials to ensure both the District Attorney’s office and law enforcement are providing the best possible service to Camden County? To ensure the District Attorney’s Office and law enforcement officials are providing the best possible service to Camden County, I will continue to provide training and technology to our police officers and prosecutors. Our prosecutors will continue to work closely with law enforcement during their investigations, and they will provide the officers with advice and direction when requested. The District Attorney’s Office employs six certified investigators who are assigned to work in every one of our five office locations. Our investigators will continue to assist the officers and investigators who work for the other law enforcement agencies in Camden County. They will continue to provide advice when requested, and they will participate in their investigations when the law enforcement agency asks for their assistance.