We Can do Better; We Shall do Better!

CAMPAIGN – “SHORT TERM” PLANS

  1. Public Safety, Job #1 – “Accountability”: Safer neighborhoods and streets…for ALL! (A fundamental right supported with “Accountability”)

    We will have safe streets, while at the same time ensuring “fair and equal” treatment for all…in ALL Neighborhoods

Hennepin County Attorney’s Office – Top Priorities:

  • Reduce violent crime – by ensuring “accountability” (…includes carjackings and hate crimes)

  • Reduce crimes against women, children, and the elderly (…includes domestic abuse)

  • Create safer schools by reducing violence within (working with schools/parents/key stakeholders)

Jarvis’ short-term plan to make our neighborhoods and streets safer (Job #1):

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Prioritizing Budget: Work with the senior prosecutor team and line prosecutors in assessing the office budget to determine the priorities and expenditures essential to making Hennepin County residents safer.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Review Policies and Practices: Work with senior prosecutor team to review existing office procedures, policies, protocols, and practices to ensure they are not hindering prosecutors in making our neighborhoods safer.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – “Violent Crime Reduction Initiative”: Initiate a Violent Crime Initiative that unites the public, judiciary, prosecutor’s office, public defender’s office, and law enforcement to explore and develop innovative crime-prevention strategies and programs to reduce crime on our streets.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – “Family Violence Initiative”: Initiate a Family Violence Initiative to primarily focus on reducing residential abuse of women, children, and the elderly that literally affect all neighborhoods in Hennepin County.

  • Sexual Predators, Sex traffickers – Double Down: My office will double down its focus and efforts on prosecuting sexual predators and sex traffickers that take advantage of another person and their bodies.

  • Hate and Bias Crimes Unit – Form: Establish a Unit o focus on hate crimes, race, sex, gender identity (LGBTQ), and immigration status. We will have specially trained prosecutors and staff to focus and work on these types of crimes.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Target Career Criminals/Repeat Offenders: Work closely with key stakeholders* in assessing how we can collectively and proactively reduce the vicious cycle of repeat offenders continuing to offend. Additionally, the office will take a closer look at its internal policies and practices to determine what more can be done to address this major problem.

  • High Schools – Form a “Second Chance at Accountability” Program: Work closely with school administrators and parents to identify at-risk, troubled students in high schools – before they end up in the juvenile system.

*Key Stakeholders in the criminal justice system include the prosecutor’s office, public defender’s office, criminal defense attorneys, law enforcement, police chiefs, the judiciary, correction personnel, parole/probate officers, social services, mayors, city manager, council members, state legislators, businesses, community-based group, faith leaders, and other criminal justice-related groups and services.

  1. Dignity, Respect, and “Equal and Fair” Treatment for all…in ALL neighborhoods

  We will have safe streets while ensuring “fair and equal” treatment for all… in ALL Neighborhoods

Short-Term Plan to Ensure “Justice for ALL”

As Hennepin County’s next county attorney, Jarvis will work tirelessly to ensure dignity, respect, and “equal and fair” treatment for all…in ALL neighborhoods, by:

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Diverse Hires: Ensure that the diversity in the office reflects the diversity of Hennepin County and its neighborhoods.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Bias Educational Training: Prosecutors in the office (myself included) will undergo yearly and ongoing training throughout the year on race, class, gender, and other biases.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Internal Policies and Procedures: Conduct a full assessment of internal policies and practices to ensure that the office is not inadvertently contributing to racial bias, profiling, and disparity in our prosecution.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Independent Third-Party Office Assessment: My office will retain an independent third party with expertise in assessing prosecutor office’s processes, policies, and practices to ensure that the office is not inadvertently contributing to racial bias or disparity based on unintended, implicit biases.

  • Law Enforcement – Pre-Textual “Traffic Stops”: Work closely with law enforcement and diverse neighborhoods to ensure that the prosecutor’s office nor law enforcement is unwittingly participating in and contributing to African Americans being targeted for simply “driving while black.”

  • Jury Selection – Striking People of Color: Enact a policy that limit the ability of prosecutors to strike Hennepin County’s residents of color without cause from a jury, unless the prosecutor can provide internally a credible explanation for such a strike that does not include race, gender, or other biases as an explanation.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Immigrant Communities: Will hold immigrants fully accountable for their criminal offenses, while at the same time, the office will take into full consideration the possible collateral consequences of such charges and pleas, such as deportation.

  • Police Officers – Misconduct/Racial Statements: My office will not use the testimony of a police officer at trial where the facts clearly evidence that the officer has knowingly engaged in misconduct or has made racist or biased statements.

  • Post-Conviction Integrity Unit – Prioritized: Exonerating the wrongfully convicted is a high priority for the office. I will re-assess the Unit’s mandate to determine whether there is a material need to increase the its size, personnel, resources, and dollars.

  • Public Defenders’ Office – Adequate Funding: To ensure justice for all, I will personally lobby state legislators, if necessary, for adequate and additional funding not only for the prosecutor’s office but also for the public defenders’ office.

  • Racial/Gender/Class – Annual Reporting: Office transparency is key to earning the trust and confidence of the residents of Hennepin County. We will issue an annual report on how it is handling race, gender, and class.

*Key Stakeholders in the criminal justice system include the prosecutor’s office, public defender’s office, criminal defense attorneys, law enforcement, police chiefs, the judiciary, correction personnel, parole/probate officers, social services, mayors, city managers, council members, state legislators, businesses, community-based group, faith leaders, and other criminal justice-related groups and services.

  1. “Community-Engagement”: Building bridges
    Campaign Theme: “Many neighborhoods, One community: Building bridges through Community-Engagement”

Short-Term Plan for “Community Engagement”

As county attorney, Jarvis will work to ensure dignity, respect, and “equal and fair” treatment for all…in ALL neighborhoods. He will personally engage our neighborhoods – particularly, our diverse ones – in constructive dialog on how we  can collectively work  together to reduce crime and ensure equal and fair treatment for ALL, by:

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Hire “Community Liaison”: The Community Liaison will be responsible for the office’s community-engagement” initiatives. This position will be a senior position that reports in directly to me. The Community Liaison will serve as the office’s “eyes and ears” and will be responsible for listening to and responding to the voiced needs of Hennepin County’s residents and neighborhood groups and leaders.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – “Listening Tour”: During my first six months in office, prosecutors in the office and I will make it a top priority to conduct a “meet and greet” listening tours in many of our neighborhoods, especially those with a high crime rate. We will not only listen but will make every reasonable effort to respond directly to residents’ concerns and proposals.

  • Local Neighborhood Council – Form: Create a Local Neighborhood Council that meets bi-monthly with local elected officials to discuss how we can work collectively together to ensure safe streets and “fair and equal” treatment for all residents.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Ongoing Neighborhood Gatherings: To gradually establish greater trust and confidence in our neighborhoods, we will host and sponsor on an ongoing basis event, town hall meetings, gatherings, and one-on-one meetings with faith leaders, community leaders, coalition leaders, small neighborhood businesses, youth groups, community activists and other community stakeholders.

*Key Stakeholders in the criminal justice system include the prosecutor’s office, public defender’s office, criminal defense attorneys, law enforcement, police chiefs, the judiciary, correction personnel, parole/probate officers, social services, mayors, city manager, council members, state legislators, businesses, community-based group, faith leaders, and other criminal justice-related groups and services.

  1. Punishment shall fit the Crime…for ALL (“Proportionality”)

  We will have safe street while ensuring “fair and equal” treatment for all…in ALL Neighborhoods

Short-Term Plan to Ensure “Punishment Fits the Crime”

I will take steps to ensure that all defendants are held accountable for their criminal offenses and that the punishment fits the crime – nothing less, nothing more. Will take the following steps:

  • Prosecutor’s Office – “Good Faith” Charges: The office will not over-charge nor under-charge the accused at the initial stage right after arrest to pressure the accused to admit guilt. Senior prosecutors will conduct early on a good faith screening of all proposed charges to determine if the evidence is sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. The office will establish “charging standards” to ensure the charges fit the crime.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Create Sentencing Review Unit: Create an internal Sentencing Review Unit to review the office’s practices of applying the charging and sentencing policies and guidelines to ensure that such charges and corresponding possible sentences fit the crime.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Sentencing Recommendations: When making sentencing recommendations to the court, prosecutors will look at the totality of the facts, circumstances, and evidence to ensure that our recommendations actually fit the crime – nothing less, nothing more.

  • Pre-detention – Reform Cash Bail: As it relates to pre-trial detention, will strongly urge the court to treat all accused – that are similar and pose a similar risk – the same pre-trial as it relates to cash bail, regardless of the accused ability or inability to pay cash bail.

  • Legal Financial Obligations (“LFOs”) – Fines and Fees: As it relates to LFOs, the office will advocate that the court use a “sliding scale” based primarily on the income of the accused for certain low-level, non-violent, offenses to ensure that punishment fits the crime.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Plea Bargain Offers: After a good faith assessment of the proper charges, the office will not withdraw a plea offer to an accused solely because the accused has refused to waive their constitutional rights to certain pre-trial procedures;

  • Immigrants – Consider “Totality” of Punishment: As it relates to immigrants, will consider the effects of deportation and make sure that any proposed punishment fits the offense by ensuring that the totality of punishment is consistent with how similar offenders are punished.

  • Discovery Disclosure – “Open File” Policy: Whether the evidence is exculpatory or not, the accused is entitled to full disclosure of all relevant and material evidence. All prosecutors will fully comply with the spirit and laws of our legal and ethical obligations to the accused.

  • Independent Investigation Crime UnitCreate: Regardless of a person’s position in Hennepin County, no one is above the law. The IICU’s mandate will be to investigate government personnel that are directly involved in the criminal justice system that act under the “color of law”. Persons falling under the purview of IICU will include prosecutors, public defenders, law enforcement, the judiciary, corrections system personnel, parole/probate officers, and others individuals acting under the color of law.

*Key Stakeholders in the criminal justice system include the prosecutor’s office, public defender’s office, criminal defense attorneys, law enforcement, police chiefs, the judiciary, correction personnel, parole/probate officers, social services, mayors, city manager, council members, state legislators, businesses, community-based group, faith leaders, and other criminal justice-related groups and services.

  1. Criminal Justice System Reform Task Force – “Reducing Mass Incarceration

We will have safe streets while ensuring “fair and equal” treatment for all…in ALL neighborhoods

As a candidate for Hennepin County Attorney, I have put forward a short and a longer-term plan – that includes partnering and working collectively with Key Stakeholders* that will bring about sustained, longer-term changes to make us safer and to move us closer toward ensuring justice for all…in ALL neighborhoods.

I will convene a task force – Criminal Justice System Reform Task Force – Reducing Mass Incarceration (“CJS Reform Task Force”) that will consist of six Working Groups and their Working Group sub-committees.

The Task Force’s primary purpose and goals will be to focus on how do we as key stakeholders* in Hennepin County: 1) make our streets safer; 2) bring us closer to “fair and equal” treatment for all…in ALL neighborhoods; 3) significantly reduce the large footprint of mass incarceration in Hennepin County; and, 4) significantly reduce the associated financial costs and collateral damage that arise from mass incarceration.

*Key Stakeholders in the criminal justice system include the prosecutor’s office, public defender’s office, criminal defense attorneys, law enforcement, police chiefs, the judiciary, correction personnel, parole/probate officers, social services, mayors, city manager, council members, state legislators, businesses, community-based group, faith leaders, and other criminal justice-related groups and services.

  1. Financial Stewardship – “Accountability”

 We will have safe streets while ensuring “fair and equal” treatment for all…in ALL Neighborhoods

Short-Term Plan to Ensure Financial Stewardship Accountability

 Below are my short-term plan to increase financial accountability for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office by, in part, reducing the financial cost and collateral damage to families arising from the over-sized “footprint” of mass incarceration:

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Refocus “Priorities”: As Hennepin County Attorney, I will refocus the office’s priorities to laser-focus on violent and serious crimes. The office will still hold accountable those who commit less serious, non-violent crimes by relying more heavily on alternative accountability mechanisms and programs such as diversion programs. By doing so, we will free up more personnel, financial resources, and prosecutors’ time to spend on violent and more serious crimes.

  • Prosecutor’s Office – Refocus “Budget” Priorities: Scrutinize the office budget to determine if the public is receiving the greatest return on its investment (ROI). For each public dollar spent, the litmus test we must be able to answer in the affirmative: Is this expenditure essential? Is it meaningfully contributing to making our neighborhoods safer? Or, contributes to reducing or preventing crime?

  • Incarceration – Alternative “Accountability” Programs: In addition to incarceration, my office will also take a fresh look at the feasibility of the office expanding its use of alternative forms of “Accountability” for low-level, non-violent criminal offenders including diversion programs, substance abuse community-based programs, programs for mental health, juvenile-diversion programs, and others.

  • Proven New Ideas and Programs – Fact-driven / Data-based: The office will take a pragmatic look at data-based, proven ideas and programs that are being successfully implemented around the country to help reduce and prevent crime. If successful, such programs will help reduce taxpayers’ financial burden in supporting the criminal justice system in Hennepin County.

  • Longer-term plan – Task Force’s Reform Working Groups (6): Will convene a high-level task force composed of Key Stakeholders* from the criminal justice system in Hennepin County. The primary goal of the six Working Groups will be to identify data-based, proven ideas, and successful programs from around the country that will assist in making us safer; support “equal and fair” treatment for ALL; and, contribute to reducing the financial and collateral costs of the oversized footprint of mass incarceration in Hennepin County.

*Key Stakeholders in the criminal justice system include the prosecutor’s office, public defender’s office, criminal defense attorneys, law enforcement, police chiefs, the judiciary, correction personnel, parole/probate officers, social services, mayors, city manager, council members, state legislators, businesses, community-based group, faith leaders, and other criminal justice-related groups and services.

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