Opioid Abuse & Prevention Task Force to Combat Overdose Deaths (2018)

Covington County District Attorney’s Office (Andalusia, AL)

Population: 37,570 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 3 | Contact Information

The Covington County District Attorney’s Office (CCDA) has created an Opioid Abuse & Prevention Task Force, which includes paramedics, law enforcement, an administrator, a training coordinator, an investigator, and a prosecutor.

Clare County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (Harrison, MI)

Population: 30,856 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 5 | Contact Information

The Clare County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (CCPA) has created a multiagency counterdrug task force including: medical personnel, pharmacists, probation and parole representatives, substance abuse counselors, and other law enforcement members who meet regularly to review current opioid related case investigations and plan future investigations based on gathered intelligence.

Easton Baton Rouge Office of the District Attorney (Baton Rouge, LA)

Population: 440,059 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 54 | Contact Information

The East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office (EBRDA) aims to disrupt the market for opioids by targeting high-profile drug dealers. With Innovative Prosecution Solutions (IPS) funding, a multi-disciplinary team consisting of representatives from EBRDA, the Baton Rouge Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Louisiana National Guard, and others collect and analyze a robust dataset pertaining to opioid prescriptions, overdoses, Narcan distributions, opioid-related arrests, and other relevant data.

Marion County Prosecutor’s Office (Indianapolis, IN)

Population: 954,670 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 160 | Contact Information

To combat gun related crime, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) used a grant from Innovative Prosecution Solutions (IPS) to provide prosecutors with key intelligence about the firearms used and any associated violent crime drivers.

In September 2013, the Tennessee District Attorney Generals unanimously voted to establish the Tennessee Justice and Professionalism Committee (TJPC) as a standing committee of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference (TNDAGC) to pursue best practices for prosecutors.  TJPC’s goal is to take the lead in improving Tennessee’s criminal justice system by keeping abreast of emerging issues and partnering with state and national criminal justice partners.

Prosecutor wellness is an issue that is justly receiving increased attention and resources. Here is an award-winning wellness program from the Missoula County Attorney’s Office and some helpful materials from the American Bar Association.

Our nation is in the midst of the worst addiction crisis in its history.  The Center for Disease Control’s most recent report revealed that the rate of drug overdose deaths has increased 137% since 2000, including 200% increase involving opioids.  Studies estimate the substance abuse recovery community in the U.S. alone is at 23.5 million people.

The Michigan Prosecutors’ Justice Initiative (MPJI), Ethics and Best Practices Committee was established in 2014 to ensure justice is delivered with the highest degree of integrity through the development of professional standards designed to improve public safety, protect the rights of the accused, secure justice for crime victims, and hold offenders accountable. The committee meets on a regular basis to discuss the challenging issues of the day and to provide guidance on a variety of subjects.

Join the National District Attorneys Association’s Women Prosecutors Section

The Women Prosecutors Section is open to all members of the NDAA. The Chair of the Committee is District Attorney Jackie Lacey of Los Angeles County, California.

As police departments across the United States embrace the use of police body-worn cameras, it is imperative that prosecutors be involved in the process as early as possible. The cameras will inevitably capture a great deal of evidentiary material that will be used in every type of criminal prosecution. Thus, systems and policies must be developed to ensure that this evidence is properly captured and delivered to the prosecutor in a timely and usable way, and that prosecutors have the resources to view, store and redact the recordings.