Community Based Prosecution

By Erik Schlueter

The District Attorney's office waits for crimes to occur and then reacts. I want to get our office involved earlier to prevent crime and use alternative means to fight problems.

My plan is to get involved before crimes are committed to stop them. I will involve the deputy district attorneys with the public when they are not in court. We, as an office will get involved with the community to find new ways to solve problems. I will have deputies become involved with community organizations. The public should look to the District Attorney for guidance and help.

The District Attorney and his staff should work closely with law enforcement to stop problems before they manifest.

1) Domestic violence is a growing problem in the county. When law enforcement intervenes, we usually find that the problem has been ongoing. Both parties should be introduced to counseling immediately (the victim, to learn to escape the violence; the perpetrator, to learn how to handle situations without violence.) The person who has been hit in a domestic violence situation is not the only victim in a family. The children who have witnessed the violence in a household learn from what they watch. The District Attorney can work with Law Enforcement officers to train them on how to deal with these children. Counseling is a must for children in violent families. If we do not counsel them early, they will spread the violence once they grow up.

2) 85% of all crimes are drug and alcohol related. We must find new ways to treat people with drug and alcohol problems. Straight prosecution has not been effective. Likewise, straight treatment is not effective. There is a balance which must be reached between prosecution and treatment to make abusers want to break the habits they have. Our drug education programs are a good start, but we see now that drugs are coming into the schools at a level before we start educating kids about drugs. We need to start our programs at an earlier age, and continue with the programs throughout high school. We see the need for a law enforcement presence at the high schools to counter drug trafficking there. The District Attorney's office should be working in cooperation with law enforcement and the schools to teach those drug education programs.

3) Gangs are starting to make a toehold in the county. We need to take strong action early and make our county inhospitable to gangs. Gangs in the schools should absolutely not be tolerated. Our children should not be afraid to go to school. The District Attorney can help by providing legal means to remove gang members from schools.

4) Elder abuse is a growing problem as our society's average age becomes older. Better health care has created a larger elder population. People are taking care of elderly without adequate training and without knowledge of outside help organizations. The District Attorney can become a clearing house for information and support groups for these caregivers. If we give the caregivers the support they need before they reach the ends of their abilities and resources, we can reduce the amount of physical abuse brought on by frustration. Education of seniors can also reduce the likelihood of thefts by con artists or caretakers. Such education programs should be produced by the District Attorney's office in conjunction with local Law Enforcement. Further, the District Attorney should continue to work with the local agencies on aging and Elder Abuse, but should also have the deputy district attorneys work in those areas. Anti-elder abuse is not a one-man position, but should be the position of an entire organization.

5) Identity theft and computer crimes are becoming more common. We need to train officers and district attorneys to handle the complex crimes now being fostered with computers. We also have to be ready to handle new crimes as they are developed. I am the only deputy district attorney currently trained to handle computer crimes. ALL of the deputies in the office should be so trained. We need to start anticipating new crimes rather than react slowly to them. We also need those deputies to go out to the community to teach people how to prevent computer crimes and identity theft.

The deputy district attorneys need to be out in the community to find out what the problems are. If we are more accessible to the community, we can get to the root of problems before crimes occur. Our office can look for and find new ways to prevent problems. We can use the powers of the courts to resolve conflicts before someone gets a criminal record.

To be effective in trial, an attorney has to know what the jurors are thinking. By stepping out to the community, the district attorney's office can find out what the community thinks, thereby increasing our effectiveness as trial attorneys. An attorney who does not go to trial AND talk with the community loses his effectiveness in evaluating cases. When over 90% of our cases are resolved through pleas, the attorneys who handle the negotiations need to accurately evaluate the cases based on the facts, the parties and the likelihood of conviction in front of a jury. Likewise, the attorneys must know their officers. We must provide training to law enforcement to increase their prevention, protection, and investigation skills. We need to know the individual officers to evaluate their trial skills and to teach where necessary.