A New Direction for the Denver District Attorney’s Office:

• Improve our juvenile justice system

  Engage young people through community and school-based early intervention; use restorative justice and other alternatives to jail. I have supported all of the restorative justice bills which have passed the legislature and am committed to its use for juveniles who are beginning to get involved in criminal behavior.

• Address disproportionate incarceration of people of color

  Change our approach in order to promote justice for all. We are incarcerating too many people in this country; I plan to address the methods for handling low level crimes in the D.A.’s office to reduce the rate of incarceration.

• Rebuild trust between law enforcement and community

  Hold law enforcement accountable; establish open and transparent communication with community representatives. I have been attending many community meetings and have gained valuable input from community leaders about the lack of trust by a large proportion of our community in the criminal justice system. We must restore and re-establish that trust. I plan to require the deputy district attorneys to attend neighborhood meetings and listen to community concerns and input, and I will be accessible to community members.

• Reduce recidivism rates

  Provide better mental health care in prisons; support services to reintegrate people into the community. Our prison system is becoming our mental health treatment system, which is not acceptable. I have supported efforts to provide more funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment. We also must support job training and assistance for those re-entering society after being in prison, and support programs that provide second chances.

• Strengthen public safety

  Work with communities to prevent and reduce crime. As Safe City Director, I sought guidance from community leaders into ways to handle community problems, and I will continue to be responsive to the community to keep all of our neighborhoods safe for children, the elderly, and everyone in between.

• Prioritize prosecution of predators

  Prioritize the prosecution of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse and human trafficking – I sponsored major human trafficking legislation that raised our national score from red (the worst) to green (the best). I have continued to advocate for the vulnerable victims of these crimes from the time I handled a pimping case as a young deputy district attorney and will work to eliminate this scourge from our city. I also tried a horrific child abuse/murder case that resulted in a legislative change to increase the penalty for the death of a child through child abuse. Domestic violence is an issue I have worked on for many years and was gratified as a legislator to pass a law which provided more funds to programs for domestic violence victims. I also sponsored a law to enforce the existing law that prohibits people convicted of domestic violence from purchasing guns. I will not tolerate sexual assault and will make these cases a priority.

• Establish a Veteran’s Court in Denver

  Examine alternatives for those who served. Colorado Springs has established a Veterans Court, and I want to explore the opening of such a court in Denver.