Note: Originally published as print-only in The CWE Griffin Newspaper.

In partnership with the Central West End Association, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabriel Gore spoke at a May 15 public forum at New City School to discuss his ongoing work of reestablishing an effective and trustworthy Circuit Attorney’s Office.

When Gore was sworn in as the City’s circuit attorney on May 30, 2023, he took over a distressed office. He was appointed by Gov. Mike Parson to fill the unexpired term of Kim Gardner, who resigned May 16, 2023 under pressure from allegations of mismanagement and negligence and calls for her ouster by state Attorney General Andrew Bailey.

A year into Gore’s role, his top priorities are to restore the public’s confidence in the circuit attorney’s office, fight for justice and enhance public safety.

“Really trying to rebuild the faith and trust with the community, because that had been damaged under the prior administration,” Gore said. “A lot of people believed that things had evolved to a point that the City of St. Louis no longer had the rule of law because there was no law enforcement agency that could hold people accountable for violating the laws. The work of repairing the relationship with the community is something that I began very early in my administration.”

Gore’s first initiatives were to re-establish senior leadership coupled with experienced prosecutors. There were 22 trial attorneys in the office when Gore arrived, which is considered low for a successful prosecutor’s office. He’s since hired 31 attorneys and experienced managerial leadership to guide them. Gore hopes to bring the total in the office closer to 60 attorneys.

“They represent attorneys who are experienced in trying the most serious trials you can face,” Gore stated. “With those attorneys in place, with senior leadership in place, we can go about trying to get things on a better trajectory.”

Gore then focused on repairing the office’s relationship with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, as well as reopening the warrant office.

The process for submitting applications of crimes sufficient for warrants was being done via email since the warrant office closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning there were 6,700 times when a police officer collected evidence and submitted an application saying that there was evidence sufficient for proof of crime, and no action was taken.

Because nothing happened, any of those defendants who had been arrested were released after 24 hours, as the constitution requires. Among the applications pending review were hundreds of violent felonies, nine homicides and multiple cases of repeat perpetrators.

“So, that’s a dangerous situation to be in,” Gore said. “And so, I know that the work we’ve done in terms of addressing those cases and getting the Circuit Attorney’s Office back functioning, back being an effective part of the criminal justice system, I know that our work has saved lives.”

In addition to repairing the office’s role as a vital part of the criminal justice system, Gore is rebuilding the Diversion Unit, in which low-level, nonviolent offenders are given access to programs and opportunities to turn their lives around.

“You take the opportunity to connect them with services, give them a chance to get their lives on track, give them a chance not to become habitual participants in the criminal justice system. That’s something that we’ve been focusing a lot of energy on,” Gore said.

Three social workers and two attorneys have been hired to restaff the Diversion Unit, making it the biggest diversion unit in the history of St. Louis’ Circuit Attorney’s Office.

“Diversion programs are an important part of criminal justice because they work, they’re effective,” Gore said. “We recognize that the criminal justice system is not infallible, everybody makes mistakes, injustices occur. Ensuring that we’re a Circuit Attorney’s office willing to step up, put in the effort and work to correct those injustices really sends a strong message to the community.”

The work of mending broken relationships and establishing a constructive, collaborative circuit attorney’s office is continuous work that Gore believes to be excelling in the right trajectory. Although Gore is running unopposed for a full, four-year term as St. Louis’ circuit attorney, he will still run his campaign for the upcoming primary and general elections.