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Sam Penrod ReportingFor the first time in 16 years, there is a new County Attorney for Utah County.
Jeff Buhman, Utah County Attorney: "It's a well known fact that we have a serious heroin and meth problem and by heroin, I also mean oxycontin, lortab, the abuse of a lot of prescription drugs."
If there is one thing that concerns new Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman, it is the use of illegal drugs.
Jeff Buhman: "Somewhere between 60 to 80 percent or more of all crime in Utah County is related in some way to the abuse of drugs and alcohol. They create many other types of offenses, the forgeries, the thefts, the burglars, so the more you do to affect that, the more you do in other areas."
Buhman has been a deputy prosecutor in the office for about ten years and wants the office to be more effective. Specifically he plans to be more judicious in the use of plea bargains, involving repeat offenders.
Jeff Buhman: "We are going to be more aggressive on people that can't stop violating the law; we are going to treat them differently."
It is Buhman and the attorneys in his office that prosecute the crimes brought by local police departments.
Jeff Buhman, Utah County Attorney: "Good communication and team work is essential in having effective investigations and prosecutions. And one of the first things I am going to do and I'm doing it today, is how we can better those relationships and communication with police."
And with the increasing population of the county bringing more crimes to be prosecuted by his office, Buhman knows the next four years will be challenging.
