Introduction To The Role of the Prosecutor
there's been a lot of attention on district attorneys lately and the
prosecutors role in the criminal justice system but you might not know all the things
the DA does the limits on the DA's power and the ways the DA's have already been
changing their approach to prosecution in recent years the DA's number one
responsibility is keeping our community safe we do that in three basic ways that we call
the three P's prosecute criminals who break the law work to prevent crimes from
happening in the first place .
The Three Ps :
and protect and support victims of crime and make sure
their voices are heard when you think of the DA you probably think prosecutors
well that's a big part of our job the power we have to hold criminals accountable
is carefully defined by the law and our ethical responsibilities when someone's
arrested we carefully review the facts and the evidence we can only file the criminal
charges we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt our job includes
protecting the rights of the innocent as well as those we charged with a crime .
The Justice System :
then the case moves through the justice system which provides checks and balances and
accountability public defenders criminal defense attorneys and judges all play a role in
how the case will resolve prosecutors alone don't determine a person's
punishment if they're convicted that's up to a judge and jury once we've proved our
case our goal is always fair and equal justice for everyone but also justice
that's smart and reflects the needs of our society and the will of the people as
prosecutors we also have the ability to give people second chances that's why we work
with special courts that steer people away from jail still hold them accountable
but get them the help they need to break the cycle and stay out of jail help
like mental health treatment finding a place to live or kicking a drug or alcohol
addiction .
Restorative Justice :
we also support restorative justice programs that help offenders understand
the harm that they've caused you a particular victim or community that's one way
we prevent crime but there are lots of others we work with youth to help them
make a choices and stay in school we support programs that help people who are
coming out of prison to find jobs and we let the public know how to recognize and
report crimes like child abuse elder abuse sexual assault and human trafficking the
third big part of our job is protecting and supporting victims of crime in a
typical year the DA's office comes into contact with thousands of victims and we
help them in lots of ways we help get them emotional support for the trauma they
suffer from having a child or loved one murdered or the emotional pain from a
violent crime like rape we help victims even when we can't file charges against the
person who hurt them we sometimes even use therapy dogs to help them testify in
court and tell their story our we do all of this on behalf of you the people we
embrace reform but will always work to make sure change happens in a way that
continues to keep our neighborhoods and you safe and we're accountable to you and to
the laws in every state across the nation .
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