Community Engagement

Featured Resource

PCE has created materials on community trust, community involvement, implicit bias, and more. Watch videos from seasoned prosecutors, read our publications, and explore topics that can help your office gain trust in the community

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  Eyewitness Identification Today

  August 2026

  Author: PCE NBP

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  Definitive Findings in Eyewitness Identification Research

  August 2026

  Speaker: John Wixted

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  Responsible Use of Facial Recognition Technology

  August 2026

  Speaker: Lora Sims

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  Quick Learning Series: Social Media Safety: A Prosecutor’s Approach to Educating High School Students

  May 2026

  

  Social Media Safety: A Prosecutor’s Approach to Educating High School Students

  As part of PCE’s Quick Learning Series, District Attorney Paul Battisti of the Broome County District Attorney’s Office (NY), discusses an innovative program from his office aimed at educating high school students on social media safety. Through an office-sponsored competition, local high schools developed videos with tips and reminders for peers as to how to stay safe on social media. Video Duration: 00:17:36

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  Strategies for Prosecutor and Non-Legal Staff Retention

  February 2026

  Authors: PCE, PCE’s National Best Practices Committee (NBP)

  Prosecutor offices across the nation are taking thoughtful approaches to both counteracting the concerns causing employees to resign, and enhancing the rewarding factors inspiring them to stay. This paper presents a number of these successful methods.

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  Strengthening Justice: Strategies for Effective Prosecutor–Police Partnerships

  December 2025

  Author: PERF

  This report explores DA-driven initiatives that have the support of law enforcement members in their jurisdictions—programs that go beyond DAs merely reviewing cases presented by police and then offering plea bargains or prosecuting those cases in court.

  This project was conceived by PERF Deputy Director Jennifer Sommers, a former longtime state and county prosecutor in New York. She has long believed that “effective collaboration between police and prosecutors is the key to moving from good to great,” and partnered with Kristine Hamann to showcase how jurisdictions across the country are putting that principle into practice. Together, they identified examples of innovative, prosecution-led partnerships from around the country that are strengthening public safety and advancing justice.

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  Prosecuting and Preventing Gun Violence: An Overview for Prosecutors

  October 2025

  Authors: NBP and PCE

  Through research, innovation, collaboration, and outreach, prosecutor offices are developing many effective methods for investigating and litigating these violent crimes, as well as preventing future incidents. This paper provides an overview of some of the successful approaches being used by prosecutors around the country.

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  PCE Pop-Up: Science-Based Interviewing for the Modern Prosecutor and Detective

  September 2025

  On September 9, 2025 PCE hosted a Pop-Up on Science-Based Interviewing. It focused on prosecutor’s use of evidence backed techniques grounded in psychology and cognitive science to gather accurate and reliable information from witnesses, victims, and suspects. These methods prioritize rapport-building and open-ended questioning to reduce bias, enhance recall, and strengthen the quality of evidence. If you are interested in the meeting materials, please contact PCE.

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  Prosecutorial Workload – The Hidden Crisis in Criminal Justice

  May 2025

  Authors: Elaine Borakove, Kristine Hamann, Antonia Merzon

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  Combatting Organized Retail Theft – Challenges and Solutions

  February 2025

  Author: PCE

  Retail theft is one of the most common crimes that many jurisdictions face. See how offices across the country are utilizing unique collaborations to prevent these pervasive crimes.

  On February 13, 2025, PCE hosted a webinar on Organized Retail Theft and the challenges and solutions associated.

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Learn how pce can help your office with community engagement

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PCE Videos

Keeping Kids Safe – Prosecutor Programs That Benefit Children

Community Advisory Boards

Authors: PCE, NRTAC

This paper, developed by PCE’s Executive Director Kristine Hamann and St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office Chief of Trials Rachel Smith, addresses the critical question of how best to maximize the resources of a public forensic laboratory.

In order to help youth achieve better outcomes in life and prevent their involvement in the criminal justice system, prosecutor’s offices have engaged in commendable efforts to reduce truancy. Offices have created multi-disciplinary truancy-reduction programs at the high school and elementary school levels.

Author(s): Kristine Hamann and Rachel Smith

This paper addresses facial recognition technology used by law enforcement to enhance surveillance capabilities and the associated legal issues it raises.

The Pima County Attorney’s Office in Arizona has established a volunteer program for members of the community interested in assisting crime victims and people in crisis. The vetting and training process for volunteers is very thorough to ensure high quality candidates are selected and are committed to long-term volunteer service.

According to the National Center on Aging, approximately one in ten Americans over 60 has experienced elder abuse. Furthermore, financial exploitation of seniors costs between $2.9 billion and $36.5 billion annually.

Author(s): Kristine Hamann

As police departments across the United States embrace the use of police body-worn cameras, the cameras will inevitably capture a great deal of evidentiary material that will be useful in every type of criminal prosecution.

Author(s): Kristine Hamann and John Delaney

Fifteen seasoned violent-crime prosecutors shared their ideas about how to improve the investigation of violent crimes at a meeting sponsored by BJA and DOJ. This paper shares an overview of the meeting discussion and the approaches and challenges faced by the jurisdictions at the meeting.

Author(s): Kristine Hamann, PCE

It is imperative that prosecutors be involved in the BWC uptake 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.

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Author(s): Kristine Hamann, PCE

The development of an electronic discovery system will significantly benefit a prosecutor’s office by providing accurate records, a speedier process and appropriate accountability for all parties.