ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Concerns are growing after newly re-elected State Attorney Monique Worrell announced a new policy keeping law enforcement from handing cases over to her office without anyone being arrested. The policy includes non-arrests in violent cases like gun violence, domestic violence, and others.
“An arrest not happening doesn’t meant that the violence didn’t happen,” said CEO of Harbor House Michelle Sperzel.
That’s the concern, as State Attorney Monique Worrell announced Thursday that she doesn’t want to see anyone unless someone has been arrested.
“The arrest cases receive priority. Those other cases sit on the back burner, and sometimes it takes up to two years to have those cases effectively prosecuted,” said State Attorney Worrell.
She says thousands of cases with no arrest are piling up, creating a backlog. The new policy means if law enforcement hasn’t found probable cause, her office doesn’t want it. This includes violent felony offenses, gun cases, and domestic violence.
“If law enforcement can’t make a probable cause determination as to who’s the aggressor of that incident, if there isn’t probable cause, we’ll never get to beyond a reasonable doubt,” said State Attorney Worrell.
CEO of Harbor House Michelle Sperzel says non-arrests in a domestic violence case often are a sign of early stages of abuse. She also says not an abuser isn’t always arrested.
“It might be the abuser is no longer on scene, maybe there’s no visible injuries, maybe witnesses were not willing or able to give a statement or maybe the survivor was so scared she wasn’t ready to give a statement at that time,” said Sperzel.
She wants survivors’ voices to be heard. It’s why she’s already reached out to the state attorney’s office to discuss the new policy.
“We want to make sure their experience is taken seriously. We want to make sure it doesn’t discourage them if they find out, well, there wasn’t an arrest, so they’re not going to do anything,” said Sperzel.
The policy is also not supported by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. In a statement, the agency said in part quote, “It could deny prosecution in some domestic violence and firearms cases and deny justice to some victims of those crimes.”
Worrell said during Thursday’s press conference that if the crime is that violent, officers should be able to get the offender off the street.
“If it’s a violent case, that person should be in custody, and then a judge can make a determination as to what happens next,” said State Attorney Worrell.
Non-arrest crimes, the State Attorney’s Office will continue to take include homicides, child abuse, and human trafficking.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2025 Cox Media Group
