REMARKS OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL F. CONLEY WEST ROXBURY KIWANIS CLUB APRIL 25, 2002 I want to thank Bob Norberg and all of you for having me here today. Suffolk County is a big place. Over the past few months, I've come to realize not only how big the job of District Attorney for Suffolk County is, but how big Suffolk County is. Coming back to the Southwest corner of the city that I represented so much of as a City Councilor, and seeing so many old friends, always feels like coming home. I'm going to be very brief today. I've already found that the best use of my time as District Attorney is not in talking, but in listening and in taking action. But I'd like to share a few thoughts with you about my priorities as District Attorney and then open it up to any questions. As I indicated, I've been on the job now for a few months, but that was hardly my first experience with the office. I was a prosecutor in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office for nearly a decade - from 1984 through 1993. I worked my way up prosecuting crimes in the District Courts and eventually moved up to the Superior Court team where I prosecuted everything from armed robberies to gang violence to rape and murder. In 1994, I thought I could make a contribution to public safety from a policy-maker's position, and was elected to the Boston City Council where I represented Hyde Park, Roslindale, and parts of West Roxbury, Mattapan and Jamaica Plain. For me to now lead the office in which I began my career and grow in my chosen profession as a prosecutor is a dream come true. But getting the job is only the beginning of my dream. My real dream is to make that office the most effective and professional it can be so that every neighborhood in Suffolk County, from West Roxbury and Roslindale to East Boston, Roxbury, Chelsea and Revere, are as safe and livable as any in America. As District Attorney, I've already made clear that among my highest priorities are protecting our most vulnerable citizens - particularly children, the elderly, and women trapped in abusive relationships; re-energizing partnerships that are so critical to preventing crime; and focusing on quality of life crimes that destabilize and demoralize neighborhoods. In all my years as a prosecutor and as an elected official, I've found that wherever you go, people want pretty much the same things. To live in safe neighborhoods where educational, economic and other social opportunity exists. I've also found that crime is an issue that doesn't just affect the victim who has been wronged, but strikes at the heart of entire communities. Nowadays, with stories about crime going up, it's important to keep perspective. First, that crime has ticked up somewhat doesn't mean that Community Policing and other partnerships and strategies that had so much success in the 1990's do not work anymore. What it means is that those strategies need to be re-focused and re-energized. Now more than ever, cooperation between prosecutors, police and the community are critical. I have already taken steps to immediately strengthen one of the District Attorney's Office's most heralded and successful programs - the Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. The Safe Neighborhoods Initiative targets specific areas and addresses the most pressing public safety issues as defined by prosecutors, police, probation and the community. While gang activity or crimes of violence are occasionally on the list, the crimes that we hear about and address most often are quality of life related -- car break-ins, vandalism and so forth. Because I consider this type of work so critical, I recently made the SNI program its own team and elevated our most experienced SNI prosecutor to lead it. And despite the tough fiscal times, I also assigned two new prosecutors to it. The Safe Neighborhood Initiative is an example of the kind of leadership you can expect from me. It is results driven. It is focused on prevention first, and if that fails, swift and sure prosecution. It is plugged into the community and it is adaptable. All of those qualities are critical today because we're not looking at the same problems that we were a decade ago. Today's challenge is in many ways tougher because we're trying to intervene with an older population and reach a group who were somewhat immune to the success and strategies of the 90's. Guns-drugs-and-gangs among a younger population fueled the violence of the late 80's and early 90's. I served on the first Anti-Gang Task Force. I know. Today, we're not looking at random street violence between young rivals, but people who are older. Many of today's homicide victims and defendants knew each other. Many of the people we are most concerned about have already served time in prison and have been released back into the community. With groups like this, recidivism, economic and employment factors, play an even larger role than ever before. Through the Re-entry Initiative in which my office partners with ministers, probation, the Sheriff's Office, the City of Boston, the U.S. Attorney's Office and private sector partners, we're trying to address those issues, but it takes time. Another priority of my office is protecting our elderly citizens from crime. The old adage is true: One test of a society is how well it protects its children and its elders. In my office, the Elders and Persons with Disabilities Unit focuses, as its name suggests, solely on crimes committed against seniors and people with disabilities. This unit handles about 150 cases per year, and it's no secret why it's so busy - elders and people with disabilities are among the most vulnerable members of our society, and often are easy targets for criminals. The types of cases we usually see involving elderly victims are fraud, larceny and, in some sad cases, physical abuse. In a good number of cases, the culprit is a family member. We currently have two lawyers and a victim witness advocate assigned to this unit. This is a tough economic time, and we must prioritize how we use our limited resources, but one of my clear priorities is to add another lawyer to that unit as soon as I am able to do so, to further strengthen our commitment to protect what has often - and correctly - been called our 'Greatest Generation.' I have no compassion for anyone who harms or scams an elderly person, and we will do whatever it takes to hold those criminals accountable for their despicable work. It breaks your heart to see these crimes committed. But we will pursue justice for these victims tirelessly. There is one other point I wish to make in terms of elder abuse. We have found that often, when a senior citizen is a victim of a crime, he or she often has other social or economic problems to deal with. To help address these problems, my office participates as one of the lead agencies in an Elder Protection Roundtable. This group, which meets regularly, consists of members of our Elder Abuse Unit, social service providers, and representatives from the local health care, banking, and real estate industries. If one of our victims is experiencing a problem in another part of his or her life, we can refer that case to the appropriate person at the roundtable and get them the help they need. I'll give you an example: one elderly victim of financial fraud, which was committed by a family member, was about to lose her house because her relative had stolen so much money that the victim could not make her mortgage payments. Through our roundtable, we notified a leader in the Boston banking community, who intervened with the bank that held the victim's mortgage and was able to cancel the pending foreclosure. That's another example of a person who was helped because of partnerships between my office and other groups. I resolve to build upon the partnerships we already have in place, to do even more, to work harder, and to work smarter, to protect our most vulnerable citizens, to successfully prosecute those people who commit crime, and to give their victims whatever help they need. This is the role I have prepared myself for throughout my professional career. It is, I passionately believe, not just my job but my calling, not just my vocation but my avocation. It is a calling I wouldn't trade for any other in the world. I truly believe - and I tell prosecutors in my office this all the time - there is no more rewarding profession for a lawyer than to do the work we do. We have the power to make a difference for the better in many, many lives, and we will strive tirelessly to bring perpetrators to justice, and to bring hope to victims. I ask all of Suffolk County to join me in that effort. I ask all of West Roxbury to join me. With good citizens like you behind me, we will truly make our neighborhoods safer places to live, work, and raise our families, and ensure that we all enjoy the opportunities we desire in common. Thank you.