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Crime Prevention Programs

ComALERT (Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together)

The ComALERT public safety program was created in 1999 by District Attorney Hynes. The program supports individuals on probation or parole as they re-enter their Brooklyn communities. Other participants include members of street gangs and at-risk youth.

The Kings County District Attorney's Office refers ComALERT participants to community based organizations that provide them with job training, job placement, education, housing, mental health and substance abuse counseling. Collectively, these organizations, and the services they provide, help individuals resist the temptation to return to or continue a life of crime.

ComALERT emphasizes preventing violence over enforcement, prosecution and incarceration alone.

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DTAP (Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison Program)

In 1990, District Attorney Hynes created to Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison Program (DTAP) on the premise that treatment would better prepare defendants to resist drugs and crime upon their return to society then if they had spent a comparable time in prison at nearly twice the cost.

The program targets drug-addicted defendants arrested for nonviolent felony offenses who have previously been convicted of one or more nonviolent felonies.  Qualified defendants enter a felony guilty plea and receive a deferred sentence that allows them to participate in a residential therapeutic community (TC) drug treatment program for a period of 15 to 24 months.  Those who successfully complete the program have their charges dismissed; those who fail are brought back to court by a special warrant enforcement team and sentenced to prison. To prevent relapse and reduce recidivism, a Business Advisory Council helps defendants who complete treatment find employment.

Preliminary findings demonstrate that DTAP is highly cost effective.  An analysis of the savings realized on correction, health care, public assistance and recidivism costs combined with tax revenues generated by
DTAP graduates reveals that diversion to DTAP resulted in economic benefits of $27 million dollars per the 699 graduates.

In 2003, a federally funded evaluation done by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, endorsed the program as "a promising example of what law enforcement can do to reduce the number of addicted drug offenders in America's prisons." CASA's five year study included the following dramatic findings:  DTAP participants remain in treatment six times longer than those in the most recent national study of long-term residential treatment.  The participants are 68% less likely to return to prison two years after leaving the program than are individuals of a matched comparison group two years after leaving prison.  DTAP graduates have re-arrest rates that were 33% lower; re-conviction rates that were 45% lower; and were 87% less likely to return to prison than those of a matched comparison group.

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Domestic Violence

The Domestic Violence Bureau was created at the direction of District Attorney Hynes in 1990, in order to give special attention to domestic violence cases and make special programs available to domestic violence victims.

The Domestic Violence Bureau receives, screens and evaluates all felony and misdemeanor domestic violence cases in the office. The Bureau prosecutes all felony domestic violence cases (including most domestic violence homicides) and all serious domestic violence misdemeanor cases.

Over its 10 years of existence, the Domestic Violence Bureau has established a core group of experienced and committed trial attorneys and managers who have developed an expertise in the prosecution of domestic violence cases. The expertise developed by our trial attorneys has translated into a very high conviction rate maintained on both the felony and misdemeanor levels.

In addition to the creation of the bureau, the Kings County District Attorney's office has also dramatically increased its ability to offer supportive services to victims of domestic violence. Today the office has a staff of 25 victim advocates (social workers and counselors) who work with the victim advocates of Safe Horizon.These advocates provide psychological and emotional support to domestic violence victims, while also helping them to obtain social service benefits, childcare, medical assistance and relocation to a safe environment.

Internet Safety for Our Children

The District Attorney has established a team of specially-trained Assistant District Attorneys to educate parents and students about the dangers that our children face in the new, global Internet. Our team has developed an interactive program for use in elementary schools, using original material as well as material developed by NetSmartz, part of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The first component of this is a series of in-school seminars. In April 2008, a pilot program was established and a partnership made with the New York City Department of Education, Community Education Council District 15, and the District 15 Parent Advocate and Superintendent. The program will be duplicated throughout Brooklyn, so that each Community Education Council will be able to partner with the District Attorney's office to provide Internet safety seminars for both students and parents.

As the first phase of this plan, specialist Assistant District Attorneys will be organizing events at Middle and Public School classes throughout District 15 in Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Windsor Terrace, Gowanus, Boerum Hill, Prospect Heights, and Park Slope.

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Internet Safety for Kids: Guidelines for Parents

1. Most importantly, keep the computer in a common family room, not a child's bedroom.
2. Spend time with your children online. Have them teach you about their favorite online destinations.
3. Make sure your children understand not to give out any personal information online. That includes not just in chat rooms, but also on any web site, including social networking sites or their own home page.
4. Talk to children about what to do if they see something that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. Show them how to turn off the monitor and emphasize that it's not their fault if they see something upsetting. Remind children to tell a trusted adult if they see something that bothers them online.
5. Harassment is harassment, online or off. If someone is engaging in illegal activity involving your children, such as threatening their safety or exposing them to unnecessary danger, they may be in violation of the law. Do not erase any offensive material until you report it to the local police. Do so as soon as possible.

Legal Lives

Soon after assuming office in 1990, District Attorney Hynes founded the LEGAL LIVES program, which brings the criminal justice system into Brooklyn's fifth-grade classrooms. The program is an outgrowth of the District Attorney's belief that lasting crime reduction can only be achieved when the same emphasis that is placed on arrest and prosecution is also placed on education and prevention.   

Assistant district attorneys work with teachers to present a biweekly curriculum that was written to increase the students' knowledge of the law and to prevent juvenile delinquency through the development of critical and analytical thinking skills.  The students role-play the facts of actual cases, consider the motivations which might underlie various types of unlawful behavior, learn elements of the law pertinent to their age group, and come to understand that for the common good, all citizens are obliged to live within a system of laws.   

Today LEGAL LIVES is reaching over 7,500 students in over 250 Brooklyn classrooms.  The lessons taught in the classroom have been enhanced by a number of  other features, including an interactive weekly
radio show ("Ask the DA" on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 5:00 P.M. on WNYE-FM, 91.5), court visits and an end-of-year mock trial competition.

LEGAL LIVES has been replicated by district attorneys across the country in cities such as Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco and in several upstate New York counties.

Prevailing Wage

District Attorney Hynes is vigilant in the prosecution of "prevailing wage" crimes.  Working closely with the New York City Comptroller's Office, the Kings County District Attorney's office has recovered, since 1997, more than $3 million in restitution from companies found in violation of the prevailing wage laws.  That money was returned to the workers who earned it.

A Prevailing Wage is set when a government agency enters into a contract with a private contractor for services.  That private contractor then agrees to pay its workers a certain minimum wage.  A prevailing wage crime is committed when the private contractor does not pay the correct amount to the workers. Often, the workers are unaware that they are being cheated.  This crime hits working people in the pocketbook and defrauds taxpayers. 

The prevailing wage is different from the minimum wage, which is set by state  law at $5.15 an hour.  Prevailing wages vary from contract to contract and workers should know what they are supposed to be paid. Companies caught in violation are also usually banned from further city contracts for a period of time.

District Attorney Hynes is adamant that contractors alleged to be cheating on the prevailing wage are prosecuted under the full force of the law.  If a worker feels his or her employer is cheating on the prevailing wage he or she should contact the Office of the Kings County District Attorney.

Senior Affairs and Elder Abuse

District Attorney Hynes is dedicated to educating and protecting the senior citizens of Brooklyn.

To demonstrate his commitment, he created the Senior Affairs Bureau in 1992 in which specially trained Assistant District Attorneys prosecute criminals that prey on senior citizens. The Senior Affairs Bureau prosecutes cases such as mortgage fraud, home healthcare aide fraud, public utility imposter robbery, identity theft and financial fraud.

District Attorney Hynes has also established an Elder Abuse Unit within the Domestic Violence Bureau which concentrates on crimes of physical abuse where senior citizens are victims.

Truancy Reduction Alliance to Contact Kids (T.R.A.C.K.)

In response to the link between juvenile delinquency and daytime crime, District Attorney Hynes, in cooperation with public and parochial schools and local police commanders, has set up a comprehensive approach to truancy.  The truancy program, Truancy Reduction Alliance to Contact Kids (T.R.A.C.K.), was started in 1998 as a pilot program.  

The pilot produced such a response that T.R.A.C.K. has now grown from two Truancy centers to seven.  The truancy program's goal is to make students responsible and parents accountable for attendance.

Truant students are taken by police officers to central locations staffed by police, New York City Board of Education School Safety Officers and attendance teachers and social workers and other staff member from the District Attorney's Office.  

Schools are contacted and asked to provide attendance records and family contact phone numbers.  A parent or guardian is called to pick up the truant student.  When parents pick up a student, they are given a letter advising them of their obligations as parents to ensure their children's regular school attendance.

Parents whose children are chronic truants may be asked to attend a meeting with program staffers for information about their duties under the law involving diligence and educational neglect.  If no parent is available, the School Safety Division will return the child to the school.  Parents will also be provided with information about local community service agencies which specialize in family situations.

In 2000, former Mayor Giuliani praised the T.R.A.C.K. program in his State of the City Address and called for its replication citywide.  There are now T.R.A.C.K. centers located in all five boroughs.

Youth and Congregation in Partnership

In 1997, District Attorney Hynes worked with Community Counseling & Mediation and the faith communities of Brooklyn and instituted Youth and Congregation in Partnership (YCP).

YCP provides adult mentors for high-risk, court involved youths in Brooklyn.  Volunteers are recruited from Brooklyn's many faith communities and trained for their mentoring role.  To qualify for this program, the participating youth must be between 13 to 22 years of age and have no pattern of violent crimes or serious mental illness.  Although a few chronic truants have been accepted into the program, the majority of the youth are charged with felony crimes and are placed in the program as an alternative sentence.

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