When Manhattan’s next District Attorney takes office in January 2010, a new chapter will begin for one of our city’s greatest public institutions. The Office requires leadership that preserves the legacy of excellence, integrity, and fairness that has defined and distinguished it throughout the Morgenthau era, while providing the vision and expertise to adapt to new challenges. How we meet these challenges is critically important for our borough, city and state.

Illegal firearms remain a serious threat in Manhattan. Under my Plan to Reduce Gun Violence and Trafficking, I will employ every resource at the DA’s disposal – including promoting amnesty programs, building law enforcement and community coalitions, implementing new technologies, and aggressively lobbying for enhanced legislation.

We need new solutions, tactics and strategies. We will continue working effectively with communities to reduce gun violence with an aggressive program to reduce gang violence and keep our streets free of crime.

Our City has witnessed an extraordinary improvement in public safety during the Morgenthau era.  New York City is now the safest large city in the country and Manhattan the safest borough - the number of homicides, which is the most reliable indicator of violent crime rates, has dropped from 661 in 1974 to 61 in 2008.

Under the Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women, Children and Intimate Partners, we will provide leadership in the city to make violence against these especially vulnerable groups a top priority throughout all levels of government, the private sector, non-profits and our communities. The Plan is based on a distinct and firm philosophy about the importance of ending violence against women, children and intimate partners. Below we outline the philosophies that will guide the Office, and the four areas in which we will work immediately: Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence, Rape (Stranger and Acquaintance), Human/Sex Trafficking, and Stalking. The Anti-Violence Plan is not an end; rather, it is a new beginning of our work to more successfully prevent and prosecute the crimes that have lasting effects on our intimate lives and our families across generations. These crimes form the basis of much of the violence in our society.

The Manhattan DA’s Office has an international reputation for fighting economic crime and corruption, which have been priorities since Thomas E. Dewey was elected District Attorney in 1937. Legend has it that the first person indicted after the Office moved into 100 Centre Street was the building’s contractor - for paying kickbacks to City Hall. Cases like these - made by prosecutors, not just police - take many months and sometimes years of hard work. They require experienced investigators and lawyers with specialized skills and the leadership of a District Attorney who knows how to build these difficult cases and win convictions fairly.

When an innocent person is imprisoned, everyone in our society loses. Wrongful convictions are incredibly destructive, obviously, first and foremost, to the person unjustly imprisoned and their family and friends, but also to society as a whole—because the public loses confidence in the law.

During the more than two decades I have been involved in sentencing issues, I have always been an advocate for moving toward a treatment model that protects public safety through rehabilitation where possible as opposed to a punitive model based on incarceration. I have seen first-hand the consequences of unduly harsh drug laws, which deprive judges and prosecutors of discretion in these matters, have perpetuated the cycle of crime, ruined families, and done nothing to treat the underlying problem of addiction. Furthermore, I have seen how these laws single out some communities more than others. Although there is scant difference in the rates of drug use between white communities and communities of color, 90% of our prison population is African American or Latino men, many in prison for drug offenses.

The Office has long been in the vanguard of prosecuting domestic and interpersonal violence, child abuse and elder abuse. It has used innovative approaches to existing laws, advocated new laws, used new forensic techniques, and developed a coordinated multi-agency approach focused on prevention, detection, and effective investigation and prosecution. We must continue and build on this policy.

In 2004, New York’s Court of Appeals ruled that the death penalty statute, enacted under Governor Pataki, was unconstitutional. The Court’s ruling led to a period of study and public hearings by the New York State Assembly culminating in a report issued in April of 2005. In June of 2006, the Assembly Codes Committee voted 13-5 against reinstatement of the death penalty. However, there is nothing to stop a death penalty bill from being revived in the future. This is why it is important for you to know your next District Attorney’s position on this defining moral issue.

The Office has long been in the vanguard of prosecuting domestic and interpersonal violence, child abuse and elder abuse. It has used innovative approaches to existing laws, advocated new laws, used new forensic techniques, and developed a coordinated multi-agency approach focused on prevention, detection, and effective investigation and prosecution. We must continue and build on this policy.

There is no crime, other than murder, which is more destructive and traumatic to the victim. The Office, which established the country’s first Sex Crimes Unit in 1974, has been at the forefront of responding sensitively to the needs of sex crime victims, their families and friends. The Sex Crimes Unit, which has grown from four lawyers in 1976 to more than 50 today, has a national reputation for its innovative approach to investigating and prosecuting sex offenses.

Today, the majority of crimes have a high-tech component. Criminal organizations commit identity theft by hacking into the computers of credit card companies. Also, white-collar criminals use e-mail, text messages, and instant messages to commit fraud. A spurned companion may terrorize a former partner by posting personal details on a social networking website, or a disgruntled employee may seek revenge by infecting his company’s IT system with a virus to destroy its data. To investigate and prosecute all forms of internet and computer crime effectively, a prosecutor’s office requires lawyers who are adept at using the complex laws that regulate the collection of computer evidence and who understand internet technology and computer forensics.

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A District Attorney’s Office must measure its success not just in the number of convictions it achieves, but also in the Office’s ability to reduce crime over the long term. Prosecutors have great discretion over when to bring charges and can influence the type and length of sentence. We should use these levers of prosecutorial discretion judiciously—always putting public safety first, but recognizing the high social and economic costs of conviction and incarceration.

As a Director of the Fund for Modern Courts , and as someone who has spent more than 20 years engaged in sentencing reform issues, I understand the benefits of problem-solving courts that engage victims, offenders and neighborhoods in creative solutions that reduce crime. At the same time, more resources and energy must be devoted to improving the quality of justice in Manhattan’s Criminal Court.

As District Attorney of Manhattan my top priority must be to ensure public safety. Strong preventative measures must be taken by police and prosecutors with the goal of reducing dangerous driving incidents with potentially tragic outcomes.