Audit of the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office (CIDA)

This is a performance audit of the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office covering July 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019.

“I am pleased to provide this performance audit of the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office.”

The audit looked at whether the office followed victim and witness assistance rules and how it ran its Youthful Diversion Program.

“In this performance audit, we examined CIDA’s compliance with Section 5 of Chapter 258B of the General Laws (see Appendix) regarding the Victim Witness Assistance Program, as well as its administration of the Youthful Diversion Program (YDP).”

The office prosecutes criminal cases for Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket Counties, so its work affects public safety and the court process in the Cape and Islands region.

“CIDA’s jurisdiction covers Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket Counties, which include the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.”

If you are a victim or witness in a case, the office is supposed to help you understand court events, available services, and the court process.

“They notify victims or witnesses of results by phone, email, or letter in accordance with Section 5 of Chapter 258B of the General Laws, which requires CIDA to provide information to victims and witnesses of crimes about the court process, court events, and available services.”

For the areas tested, the auditor concluded that the office met the audit objectives.

“Below is a list of our audit objectives, indicating each question we intended our audit to answer and the conclusion we reached regarding each objective.”

The report says the office should keep working with the statewide district attorneys' association and other district attorneys' offices to replace its aging case management system quickly.

“Therefore, OSA believes that CIDA needs to continue to work with MDAA and the other district attorneys’ offices to implement a new case management system as soon as possible.”