Middlesex DA Details Crime Prevention Efforts in Chat

By Richard Hosford

State Rep. Jay Kaufman hosted Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan as part of his series "Open House" on Oct. 17.

Kaufman and Ryan discussed the role of the district attorney's office, what efforts are underway to combat and prevent crime and answered questions from the audience. 

Ryan was appointed as District Attorney in April of this year after former District Attorney Gerald Leone resigned to work in a private law practice. Prior to her appointment, Ryan served as the office’s general counsel, where she created the county-wide Workplace Safety and Violence Prevention Program, a release on the talk by Kaufman states. Ryan is responsible for the prosecution of approximately 35,000 cases a year in the diverse 54 cities and towns of Middlesex County.

Here are five points discussed during the Open House chat. 

1) Prevention is key 

Ryan said that while her office prosecutes alleged criminals, she has several crime preventions efforts underway, including ones for alcohol and drug abuse, bullying and cyber bullying and gangs. Her office also puts out information on scams, including those that target the elderly, and common crimes to keep the public informed. She also has a program to work with youth offenders and help get them avoid committing additional crimes. 

"Our job is always better if a crime doesn't happen in the first place," Ryan said. 

2) Restorative Justice 

Ryan spoke about the office's Restorative Justice program, an effort to get the community involved in the justice process and to help keep first-time offenders out of jail but to also teach them about the impact of their crimes. 

As part of the program, first-time offenders for crimes such as home break-ins or vandalism, meet with their victims and residents. During the meeting, the victim will explain the impact the crime had on them, including emotional and financial consequences. Other members of the community are also invited to express how such crimes impact the neighborhood. 

Once the discussion is over, the offender must agree to the punishment set by the group. Ryan said this could include paying restitution to the victims and some community service. 

Ryan said that listening to their victims explain how their crime affected them helps offenders put a face to what they may otherwise see as just another stranger. Also, because often times the offenders are part of that community, this may help them feel more apart of it when the process is over. 

"It's a way to change behavior," Ryan said. 

3) Domestic violence victim assistance

In the wake of the case against Jared Remy, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Jennifer Martel two days after being arrested on a charge of assault of battery with a dangerous weapon, Ryan also discussed other ways to help domestic violence victims.

Because Remy had been arrested for alleged domestic violence mere days before allegedly killing his girlfriend, Patch editor Rich Hosford asked Ryan she would support legislation mandating that repeat domestic violence offenders be held for a minimum of two days to give victims the physical and emotional distance leave the offender and find shelter.

Ryan said she believes each case should be taken separately and that mandatory sentencing takes the judgement out of the judiciary system. 

Kaufman said he could see both sides of the issue and agreed that giving the victim time to be away from the abuser could be beneficial. 

"That's a tough one," he said. "A cooling off period is a rich area for consideration. It's true the victim may not be the best self-advocate at that point." 

4) Dookhan lab scandal 

Ryan was also asked about the impact of the Annie Dookhan lab scandal where Dookhan allegedly falsified criminal lab test results while working at the at the now-closed William A. Hinton State Laboratory Institute. As a result, officials across the state had to reexamine criminal convictions based on Dookhan's results.

Ryan said the scandal had an "enormous cost and impact" on the Middlesex District Attorney's office. She said there were 101 individual cases where the office had to either dismiss cases or drop certain charges because they could not make a case that the evidence was valid. 

5) Cyber bullying 

Ryan said that the biggest difficulty in combating bullying in this day and age is the presence of cyberbullying. In the past, she said, children who were picked on in school could at least go home at the end of the day and be separated from their tormentors. Now, she said, bullying can occur around the clock.

"Kids who are cyber bullied are so upset they go to bed clutching their phones," she said.