Cynthia I. Martinez

Cynthia I. Martinez, President

• Cynthia Martinez, city prosecutor of Yakima

But city prosecutor Cynthia Martinez said Thursday it's not a scheme created by those who didn't like the way the vote turned out.Instead a sudden twist to the meeting could be the reason why the council skipped the vital step.

"If anybody had been watching that meeting they, it would not be a surprise to them how that did happen," she said.

Cynthia Martinez
...
Criminal prosecutor Cynthia Martinez said her existing needs are being met, largely because of the sales tax increase voted into law in 2004.

"That really saved our bacon," she said, adding that five prosecutors and three legal assistants now work in her department."Things were getting pretty crazy before that.

Cynthia Martinez, First Vice President Yakima City Prosecutor

For example, if kids tag houses or break into cars at night, the crimes would likely be reported the following morning, said Yakima criminal prosecutor Cynthia Martinez.

That's why police officers will now log the number of juveniles they contact at night and record what they were doing.That way, the city can better understand the nature of nighttime juvenile activity.

"My personal belief is there is some level of problem, but that needs to be documented," Martinez said.

Martinez said data supporting the need for a curfew is needed if there's a legal challenge.
...
Whether the new data will prove the need for a curfew, or whether a year's worth of statistics is enough, has yet to be determined, Martinez said.

Yakima's criminal prosecutor, Cynthia Martinez, said she isn't aware of Tacoma's ordinance being challenged in the courts.Like Toppenish, she too is drafting a juvenile curfew similar to Tacoma's.

The Yakima Police Department, she added, is preparing a report showing crime trends.If the data supports the need for a curfew, the city would have a better chance of withstanding a constitutional challenge.

"It may be before the council by the end of the month," she said about her proposal."We're striving for that."

If the data supports the need for a curfew, the city would have a better chance of withstanding a constitutional challenge, said criminal prosecutor Cynthia Martinez.