{"id":30258,"date":"2019-10-29T09:06:23","date_gmt":"2019-10-29T13:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=30258"},"modified":"2019-10-29T09:06:30","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T13:06:30","slug":"op-ed-time-for-a-new-culture-in-the-district-attorneys-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=30258","title":{"rendered":"Op\/Ed: Time for a new culture in the District Attorney’s Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Joseph W. Carroll<\/strong>, Former District Attorney, Chester County<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Joe Carroll (left) and Deb Ryan<\/p><\/div>\n

On November 5th<\/sup> Chester County voters will elect a District Attorney.\u00a0 I know from having held that office for 10 years the power and responsibility that goes with the position.\u00a0 As the chief law enforcement officer of the county, the DA can help keep our citizens safe and bring comfort to the victims of crime.\u00a0 But mistakes, poor working relationships with law enforcement agencies, a callous attitude towards victims, premature press conferences, and decisions based on personal or political consequences can unfairly and irreparably damage lives.<\/p>\n

I also know the qualifications of both candidates, having hired and reviewed the performance of both while they worked as assistant district attorneys for me.\u00a0 I also have the benefit of hearing from many of my friends in law enforcement about the performance of the candidates since I left office.<\/p>\n

Based on that knowledge of the office and the candidates I strongly urge voters to elect Deb Ryan as our next District Attorney.\u00a0 I note that the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association, Chester County FOP Lodge 11, State Police FOP Lodge 66 (Chester County) and the East Whiteland Police Association are among the many endorsements Ms. Ryan has received as well.<\/p>\n

We need a new culture in the District Attorney\u2019s Office, something only Deb Ryan can provide.\u00a0 Ms. Ryan recognizes that becoming the chief law enforcement officer of the county makes her a servant, not a king; and that the power she controls as District Attorney belongs to the people she serves.\u00a0 She won\u2019t hold press conferences that potentially damage investigations, taint trials, or ruin the reputations of innocent people.\u00a0 She won\u2019t consider the potential personal or political consequences of the decisions she makes or use her office for self-promotion.\u00a0 She will hold all criminals accountable but be ethical and even-handed every step of the way.<\/p>\n

She will repair damaged relationships with law enforcement agencies, pursuing the shared goals of public safety and justice with no concern about who gets the credit.\u00a0 She will treat crime victims with the compassion and support they deserve.\u00a0 And she will hire, train and lead a staff that abides by the same standards.<\/p>\n

I trusted Ms. Ryan\u2019s judgment when she worked for me, and my successor did as well: he promoted her to supervisor of the Child Abuse Unit and named her Prosecutor of the Year.\u00a0 With 15 years of experience as an assistant district attorney, she has a proven record \u2013 recognized by colleagues, police officers and victims \u2013 as an excellent trial lawyer and tough prosecutor.\u00a0 She has obtained stiff penalties for those who deserve them and can distinguish between those who will always pose a danger and should be confined as long as the law allows, and those who can be rehabilitated through our treatment courts and other sentencing options.\u00a0 She has an intuitive understanding of what victim\/survivors need, and the ability to teach that skill to others.<\/p>\n

Tough, smart, ethical and compassionate is a great combination.\u00a0 It\u2019s why I was always proud to have her represent me in the courtroom.\u00a0 It\u2019s why she earned the police endorsements I mentioned earlier.\u00a0 Now, she should be the leader.\u00a0 She\u2019s earned it.\u00a0 Vote Deb Ryan for District Attorney.<\/p>\n

Joseph W. Carroll served as District Attorney of Chester County from 2002 to 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Joseph W. Carroll, Former District Attorney, Chester County On November 5th Chester County voters will elect a District Attorney.\u00a0 I know from having held that office for 10 years the power and responsibility that goes with the position.\u00a0 As the chief law enforcement officer of the county, the DA can help keep our citizens […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[11232,11142,6269,11900],"class_list":["post-30258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-deb-ryan","tag-election-2019","tag-featured","tag-joseph-carrolll"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30259,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30258\/revisions\/30259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}