The first responsibility of the Queens District Attorney is making our community safer. But safety doesn’t come from a jail cell, it comes from partnering with the community to reduce crime before it happens.

It comes from addressing the real issues of police-community conflict and opening lines of communication to make crime reduction everyone’s responsibility. It comes from getting guns off the street and helping young people find alternatives to violence to deal with conflict. It comes from reaching out to victims to make them feel safe about reporting crimes. It does come from fairly investigation accusations and prosecuting criminals, but it also comes from making sure no one is wrongly prosecuted, incarcerated, or forced to sit in a jail cell for years on end without a trial.

Melinda’s history of working with the Queens community to address issues ranging from child sex abuse to gun violence has given her a unique perspective on crime reduction and criminal justice.

As District Attorney, she’ll continue using this same approach, make the DA’s office a partner with every community to reduce crime in every corner of the Borough, while making sure that every community feels protected and respected by law enforcement.

Law enforcement and our approach to criminal justice must change. The era of stop & frisk, arrest quotas, and mass incarceration must end, and a new era of community-based, prevention-driven justice must begin. And it starts with us. ALL of us.