Addressing the Opioid Crisis and Addiction

Since 2013, District Attorney Dave Sullivan has taken a multifaceted approach to address the opioid epidemic. Our DA Office helped lead the efforts to establish two Opioid Task Forces. The Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and North Quabbin and Hampshire HOPE each has a diverse group of community stakeholders who address Health Care Solutions, Public Safety and Justice Issues, Harm Reduction, Treatment and Recovery, and Prevention. These task forces have contributed significantly to lives being saved, addicted persons accessing treatment and recovery services, and reduction in crime and incarceration.

DA Sullivan has been the Co-Chair of both task forces in order to address substance use disorders and find long-term solutions. Our DA Office established the highly successful Drug Treatment and Diversion Program to divert addicted persons from criminal prosecution and into treatment and recovery. We have been active partners in

creating response intervention, through our opioid task forces’ CONNECT and DART Teams, to help those persons who have experienced non-fatal overdoses.

At the same time, our Northwestern District Anti-Crime Task Force, has targeted majordrug traffickers who profit off the addictions and fatal overdoses of others. The Anti-Crime Task Force was created in 2013 to combine the resources of local and state police, and our DA office, to investigate serious crimes, to include major theft rings,

drug trafficking, and human trafficking.

Child Protection

The health, safety and well-being of our children must be a top priority of every District Attorney. We have brought a focused and coordinated approach to better serve our youngest citizens.

Our DA’s staff will continue to work on issues including cybercrime and child pornography, youth addiction, civil rights and bullying, mental health, school safety, and other issues that address needs and concerns of children. Since 2011, our DA office has significantly expanded the number of prosecutors and staff assigned to the

Child Abuse Unit. In addition, we work collaboratively with our two non-profit Children’s Advocacy Centers to address the sexual and physical abuse of children. Both are now full-time CAC’s that provide medical exams, clinical services, and are welcoming place for children to tell their stories of abuse. In 2015, DA Sullivan Co-

founded the CAC of Franklin County and North Quabbin Region to better serve the children and families of this area. Listed below are some of our priorities.

Child Pornography and Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a significantly under-reported crime because of the nature of thecrime and the vulnerabilities of the individuals involved, who are often homeless, undocumented, have no financial support, and struggle with substance abuse. The District Attorney’s Office enforces the Massachusetts human trafficking law, which is widely praised as the most comprehensive law of its kind in the nation. As District Attorney, I will continue to prioritize human trafficking investigations and prosecutions.

Prosecutors and investigators will continue to aggressively pursue cases against child predators, and the production and possession of child pornography, as well as any cases involving the human trafficking

of children.

Bullying and CyberSafety

We have built off of the successes from the Statewide Bullying Commission. Our DA Office looks to enhance tools available to students, teachers, administrators and parents to combat bullying and cyberbullying, particularly when it occurs outside of the school and through the Internet. We will partner with law enforcement and technology experts on ways to protect children against online threats.

Dating Violence

Our DA Office has been an active participant in the White Ribbon Campaign and Jane Doe, Inc initiatives to address dating violence. However, we must do a better job educating students from the elementary school years forward about how to prevent dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. We will continue to work with educators and coaches to develop and implement evidence-based prevention initiatives in our public schools and after-school programs that promote healthy peer relationships and teach young people how to stay safe online.

Safety at Home

Our DA Office has a long track record of fighting domestic and sexual violence. Ourprevention, intervention, victim services, and prosecutions are models in the Commonwealth. Specialized training for law enforcement and prosecutors has led togreatly enhanced investigations and prosecutions.

Sexual and domestic violence are all too prevalent in Massachusetts, as in other parts of the country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in three women and one in five men in Massachusetts have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner. More than one in seven Massachusetts women have been raped.

Perpetrators of sexual and domestic violence harm survivors, families, and communities. Frequently, offenders target and prey upon the most vulnerable members of our society: young people, the homeless, the elderly, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, and persons with developmental and physical disabilities.

For the past decade, DA Sullivan has served on the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual and Domestic Violence. Our innovative approaches to addressing domestic and sexual violence have been shared statewide to include: our strangulation worksheet and risk assessment tools for law enforcement, and our protocols for identifying high risk offenders. As District Attorney, we will continue to target and hold accountable

perpetrators of sexual and domestic. Sexual and domestic violence are all too prevalent in our society. It is imperative that the criminal justice system holds perpetrators accountable and that survivors of these crimes

have access to much-needed services. However, it is equally important that we commit to preventing these forms of violence in the future. We will continue to advocate for court-ordered Batterer’s programs to help change the behavior of domestic abusers.

Protecting Our Seniors and Disabled Persons

Our seniors and disabled persons can become easy targets and victims of unscrupulous criminals. These vulnerable citizens face financial exploitation schemes, embezzlement, and scams from both strangers and caretakers.

Our Elder and Disabled Persons Unit is charged with the investigation and prosecution of these abuse cases. It is also tasked with the prevention of such abuses. Our EDPU works collaboratively with our Consumer Protection Unit, local law enforcement, and Hampshire and Franklin Sheriff’s Department on prevention initiatives. Our TRIAD program works on safety programs to help seniors and disabled persons.

We have seasoned prosecutors, victim advocates, and investigators that make these cases a high priority. We will continue to make these resources available in order to reduce victimization and hold offenders accountable.

Community Engagement

As the people’s law firm, the District Attorney’s Office must engage with the needs of the community. This requires being proactive, not only by prosecuting crimes and listening to citizen complaints, but by communicating with community organizations, advocacy groups, and local leaders to know what is happening on the ground.

We established a Citizen Advisory Board over 11 years ago to assist with our community engagement. These CAB members play a vital role in keeping our DA Office informed about school safety issues, civil rights, mental health,

juvenile justice, and other key issues. I’ve met with stakeholders, community groups, and advocacy organizations on a regular basis to ensure that we are focused on the issues that confront the communities we were charged with protecting.

Early on in our administration, we established a Community Outreach and Education Unit and it will continue to expand the DA Office’s public engagement and outreach efforts. We created a robust DA office website

(NorthwesternDA.org) to inform the public about our programs and the criminal justice work we do. Each year, we give a detailed Annual Report to provide information and accountability to the citizens we serve. By devoting more resources to these endeavors, and by recruiting and retaining a more diverse workforce, I know we can better serve the people of our district.

To best serve the people of Franklin and Hampshire counties and town of Athol, the District Attorney’s Office must reflect the people of the district. As District Attorney, I will continue to prioritize recruiting and hiring more lawyers and staff from diverse backgrounds.

I have bolstered the DA Office’ s diversity by increasing efforts to recruit individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences, including those who have grown up in disadvantaged neighborhoods, immigrants and children of immigrants, and individuals with disabilities.

We created the John M. Callahan Public Service Fellowship, which brings law school students of diverse backgrounds into the DA Office. We will continue to prioritize the hiring of personnel with language skills to serve the needs of the diverse population of our district.

Veterans and Military Families

My father, brother, and several uncles were veterans, so helping those who have served our country has special meaning for me. Nearly one out of every five households in Massachusetts is a military family with a veteran, reservist, or active duty service member in it.

A District Attorney’s Office Helps Veterans

Veterans and military families come into contact with the District Attorney’s Office every day, often when they call or visit the office, or through outreach in the community, or as a court-involved defendant. We have trained prosecutors and staff to understand and address the unique legal issues that veterans and servicemembers

confront. We will continue to work with Veteran’s Service Officers (VSO) across the Northwestern District to increase awareness of how the District Attorney Office is able to serve as a resource for veterans and military families. We have developed a resource guide, The Blue Book, to help these veterans and families navigate the

agencies and resources that available to help them out.

Our dedicated men and women who have served over the last two decades in Iraq and Afghanistan have returned to Massachusetts with both visible and invisible scars of war.

Unlike in other states, many of our veterans in Massachusetts are National Guard and Reservists — civilian soldiers who have answered the call to serve. Many of these service members return facing the lasting physical and emotional impact of their service and are unable to access the care they need. Some of these veterans become court-involved as a result of mental health and substance use disorders that arise from

their trauma. It is our duty to help them navigate the court system in a compassionate and meaningful way.

We have worked to improve awareness and access to mental health resources in our region for returning service members, particularly for those suffering from Post- Traumatic Stress, those who have experienced sexual trauma while in the military, and those who are struggling with substance use and addiction. We have partnered with DMH, Soldier On, the Veterans’ Administration and other service providers to give the substance use disorder treatment, health services and stable housing that each person deserves.

Our District Attorney Office was a strong advocate in establishing the Western Massachusetts Veterans Treatment Court. This highly successful Veterans Treatment Court supports veterans in their treatment and recovery while holding them accountable. We will continue to coordinate with courts and VSOs across our District to ensure that veterans are receiving referrals to state and federal resources when they become court-involved.