DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE RELEASES ITS 2012 ANNUAL REPORT

 

111 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
White Plains, NY 10601
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Date April 23, 2013 -- Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore has released the 2012 Annual Report of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

The 28 page report outlines the accomplishments, initiatives and community involvement of the District Attorney’s Office in 2012 and looks ahead to maintaining the programs that have been implemented over the last seven years.

The report highlights that:

• The office has maintained a record of sound financial management. In addition to seeking federal and New York State grant funding to support our work, we use money forfeited from criminal activity to fund appropriate prosecution initiatives and equipment, thereby decreasing the burden on Westchester taxpayers. We have achieved these results while consistently managing the public’s money responsibly, returning a total of over six million taxpayer dollars to the County during the past seven years.
• The District Attorney has continued to serve as Co-Chair of New York’s Justice Task Force, which works to develop reforms designed to prevent wrongful convictions. In 2012, important Task Force recommendations on our state’s DNA law were enacted when Governor Cuomo signed the All Crimes DNA Database Bill, a very significant step forward in public safety for New Yorkers. This new law requires every person convicted of a felony or a Penal Law misdemeanor in New York State to provide a DNA sample upon conviction. By expanding the pool of DNA samples to which crime scene evidence can be compared, and expanding defendants’ access to DNA evidence, this law will greatly improve our ability to identify criminals, eliminate suspects at an early stage and reduce the chance of wrongful convictions.
• While we are a law enforcement agency whose primary mission is to prosecute crime, the District Attorney’s Office is also a member of the community and we have a related commitment to bring crime prevention and public safety information to groups throughout Westchester County. Assistant District Attorneys are in schools, senior centers and other public gatherings reaching out to children, parents, teachers, seniors and community members, teaching them about internet safety, cyber bullying, elder abuse, animal cruelty, domestic violence and other topics.
• Our prosecutors also provide legal training for police and other community partners throughout the County, including specialized legal topics in sex crimes, arson, child abuse and domestic violence.
• In 2012, drawing on information from Westchester County’s Child Fatality Review Team about infant deaths, the District Attorney’s office worked with all of the maternity hospitals in Westchester County to introduce our Safe Sleeping Initiative, an educational program for new parents on the importance of safe sleeping environments for babies.

“I am pleased to report on the work of the District Attorney’s Office in the 2012 Annual Report, which marks the completion of my seventh year as Westchester County’s District Attorney and chief law enforcement officer,” said District Attorney Janet DiFiore. “At a time when public confidence in government is at record low levels, I have sought to maintain public confidence in my office by adhering to the goals I set when I became District Attorney: promoting public safety, ensuring fairness in criminal prosecutions, and upholding the highest standards of prosecutorial integrity.”