ST. LOUIS — Work continues on the backlog of 6,700 cases that went unreviewed during former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s administration.

Marking his two years in office since Gardner resigned, current St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore provided an update Tuesday on backlog reduction, effective prosecution, community outreach and staffing.

The 6,700 unreviewed cases include felony charges such as robberies, rapes, assaults, carjackings and homicides.

“By prosecuting those cases, we remove dangerous individuals from the street,” Gore said. “I know that the work not only will improve public safety but save lives.”

The backlog of 257 pending homicide cases has decreased to 171, he said.

Gore mentioned that the circuit attorney’s office is now operating more efficiently in the time it takes for a case to be resolved. The time from the case being charged to resolved is 217 days, which is a 53% improvement.

The average review time for cases submitted to the warrant officer is five days. Gore said 92% of cases submitted are charged within 24 hours.

“I have said repeatedly that my vision of the office is that we be one of the highest performing circuit attorney’s offices in the country. And that is something that I continue to believe is completely achievable for us,” Gore said.

He said achieving that goal is to invest in competitive salaries, training and technology. The ultimate goal is to have a staff of 60 attorneys.

A citizens’ academy is set to launch this year, which will offer community leaders in-depth looks into the circuit attorney’s office. In addition to a neighborhood group to collaborate with neighborhoods on cases and work to support witnesses and victims.

The office relaunched the diversion program in January 2024, which resulted in 17 graduates. The program provides offenders services and tools to be successful.

“Our diversion reflects our effort to be a good community partner (and) to offer low level, nonviolent offenders an opportunity to improve their lives,” Gore said.

Participation has increased in the treatment court, where 27 people have graduated since Gore has been in office.

Staffing over the past two years has increased as 51 attorneys have been hired, as well as 58 support staff such as paralegals, victim advocates, diversion caseworkers, administrators and more.

"With two years completed, we continue the relentless and difficult work of achieving a higher level of public safety for the entire Saint Louis community," Gore said.