The state\u2019s top prosecutor believes Pennsylvania\u2019s criminal justice system should include stringent prosecution for drug traffickers, but also the opportunity for redemption for those struggling with addiction or mental health issues.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday recently announced the expansion of the state\u2019s Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative, or LETI, to include diversionary programs for those with substance use disorders and now for those with mental health needs.<\/p>\n
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Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday sits for an interview with The Times-Tribune on Thursday in downtown Scranton. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)
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Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday sits for an interview with The Times-Tribune on Thursday in downtown Scranton. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n
Sunday talked about the program and other issues with a reporter at The Times-Tribune office in Downtown Scranton on Thursday,<\/p>\n
The program connects low level offenders to treatment and\u00a0 support services, offering an alternative to the traditional criminal justice system model.<\/p>\n
Sunday emphasized the program is not a free pass for those committing criminal offenses, rather a cost effective means of providing the best outcomes for families, communities and society.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an initiative through the attorney general\u2019s office where we go into counties and we help counties create programs that put police in a position where they can help people who are in the throes of substance abuse and now mental health to get them into treatment,\u201d he said. \u201cIt decreases crime and gives them help they need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sunday pointed out a habitual offender will often be caught in a cycle in which they go back to prison for increasingly serious offenses.<\/p>\n
The LETI program is also cost effective, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the data, when you can get someone treatment and you keep them from committing more crimes, it saves tax payers millions of dollars,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
An example, he said, is inmates that are in and out of county jails for short periods, driving up the cost of incarcerating them.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo right off the bat, if we can decrease the amount of people that are coming and going in county jails, it saves tax payers tons of money,\u201d he said. \u201cIn most counties, one of the highest budget items is the cost of county jails.\u201d<\/p>\n
Equally important, he said, is the program provides opportunities for low-level offenders to remain with families and continue to be employed.<\/p>\n
The program works, he siad, because it allows county officials to tailor programs appropriate for their own communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a district attorney, it drove me crazy when people from different places, the state or federal government would come in and tell us, \u2018Here\u2019s what you need to do to solve your problem,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThe way that it works most effectively is when we come in and collaborate with local police, DA and service providers and ask how the initiative could be tailored to meet their specific needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The best outcomes are met when his office respects and adheres to the needs of the local environment. His commitment, he said, is to fully prosecuting drug traffickers and other high level drug offenders, arresting them and putting them in prison.<\/p>\n
But, when it comes to those with charged with low level crimes, struggling with addiction or mental health, he believes society would do well to offer them a second chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy motto is accountability and redemption,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Federal intervention<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump has been sending the National Guard into several cities across the country. When asked if he would support federal goverment dispatching troops to Pennsylvania cities, Sunday declined comment on a situation that doesn\u2019t currently exist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came into this position from a courtroom the military and as a career prosecutor,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause of that, my career has always revolved around applying facts to law.\u201d But, Sunday points out that, when it comes to the federal government sending the National Guard to Pennsylvania, there are currently no facts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I would do as attorney general, if something would occur, I would conduct a legal analysis based on specific facts and circumstances at the moment in time, because those facts are always different,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u201dI don\u2019t want to hypothesize on things we haven\u2019t seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Lawsuits have been filed by other state attorneys general, over issues including immigration, federal funding and environmental policy. Sunday declined to comment, emphasizing his focus on Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
He looked back to his youth when he was complaining about the unkempt state of his brother\u2019s room and his grandmother encouraged him to worry about his own room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI view all of these issues through the state of Pennsylvania and what I mean by that is I know that the way that I can be the best AG is to focus on keeping our community safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He collaborates regularly with agencies across the board, including local, state and federal agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is really doing the best they can to row in the same direction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Human Trafficking education, prosecution<\/p>\n
Sunday and his team were making a trip through Northeast Pennsylvania Thursday to get a sense of the needs of residents here. Sunday said he looked forward to participating in a\u00a0 human trafficking seminar in Tunkhannock on Thursday night as an opportunity to educate residents on the effects of human trafficking and his office\u2019s response.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are prosecuting sex trafficking. We\u2019re prosecuting labor trafficking. It\u2019s a huge issue in Pennsylvania,\u201d he said. \u201cIts a human issue, its a bipartisan issue and I think that its something that we can all come together to try to prevent.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, when it does happen, offenders will be arrested and prosecuted, he said.<\/p>\n
Years ago, children were somewhat safe inside their homes, with doors locked, he said. Now, any child on the internet is a potential target of child predators.<\/p>\n
Educating parents is the first step in keeping children safe, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAwareness is the key to victory,\u201d he said. .<\/p>\n
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