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Boston (Suffolk County)District Attorney Rachel Rollins
Among her first and most impactful initiatives, District Attorney Rollins implemented a policy of presumptively dismissing and/or diverting certain low-level misdemeanor charges. These offenses are often symptomatic not of criminal intent but of mental illness, substance use disorder, and poverty. Instead of using her limited resources to prosecute and incarcerate these offenders, District Attorney Rollins seeks to hold them accountable while providing access to services and treatment to address the underlying issues that likely led the individual to offend. This progressive approach is designed to reduce the likelihood that an individual will reoffend and improve the safety and wellbeing of impacted communities.
Upon taking office, District Attorney Rollins recognized that immigrant victims, witnesses, and offenders were often afraid to appear in court due to federal authorities’ use of state courts to conduct civil immigration arrests. As a result, prosecutors have been unable to prove criminal cases where witnesses and victims did not appear for trial and vulnerable immigrants lacked access to the vital protections of the court, such as restraining orders, and services of the probate and housing courts. Additionally, violent offenders charged but not yet prosecuted in Suffolk County were being removed by ICE. This was done with no communication with the District Attorney’s Office or the victims of the crime. In response, District Attorney Rollins helped lead the charge in filing an injunction in federal court to end civil arrests in state courthouses and ensure that all community members have equal access to justice through the courts.
District Attorney Rollins has also undertaken a long term project to ensure that each of Suffolk County’s more than 1,000 unsolved homicides receives a comprehensive administrative and legal review. This represents one of the most ambitious efforts thus far in her commitment to better serve homicide survivors as well as victims of all crime in Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop.
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By Tayla Andre
5
55 ratings
Among her first and most impactful initiatives, District Attorney Rollins implemented a policy of presumptively dismissing and/or diverting certain low-level misdemeanor charges. These offenses are often symptomatic not of criminal intent but of mental illness, substance use disorder, and poverty. Instead of using her limited resources to prosecute and incarcerate these offenders, District Attorney Rollins seeks to hold them accountable while providing access to services and treatment to address the underlying issues that likely led the individual to offend. This progressive approach is designed to reduce the likelihood that an individual will reoffend and improve the safety and wellbeing of impacted communities.
Upon taking office, District Attorney Rollins recognized that immigrant victims, witnesses, and offenders were often afraid to appear in court due to federal authorities’ use of state courts to conduct civil immigration arrests. As a result, prosecutors have been unable to prove criminal cases where witnesses and victims did not appear for trial and vulnerable immigrants lacked access to the vital protections of the court, such as restraining orders, and services of the probate and housing courts. Additionally, violent offenders charged but not yet prosecuted in Suffolk County were being removed by ICE. This was done with no communication with the District Attorney’s Office or the victims of the crime. In response, District Attorney Rollins helped lead the charge in filing an injunction in federal court to end civil arrests in state courthouses and ensure that all community members have equal access to justice through the courts.
District Attorney Rollins has also undertaken a long term project to ensure that each of Suffolk County’s more than 1,000 unsolved homicides receives a comprehensive administrative and legal review. This represents one of the most ambitious efforts thus far in her commitment to better serve homicide survivors as well as victims of all crime in Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop.