A pair of open-house-style events held over the weekend provided local residents an up-close look at the inner workings of the commonwealth’s attorney’s office.
The two Interactive Data Walks on Local Prosecution and Diversion Programs aimed to demystify the work of the prosecutor’s office, Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti told ARLnow.
“The purpose of this is building community trust,” she said. “Community safety is the biggest group project there is.”
Held in two-hour windows Saturday at the Falls Church Community Center and Sunday at Arlington Mill Community Center, the drop-in programs provided the chance for the public to learn about:
- What crimes are being committed in the two jurisdictions, and at what levels
- How the commonwealth attorney’s office approaches local cases
- How diversion programs work in Arlington and Falls Church
- How data is used to promote fairness, safety and accountability
During the self-guided walking tour, participants were encouraged to stop at six stations and interact with personnel from the prosecutor’s office.
“It’s always exciting for me to brag about my staff,” Dehghani-Tafti said.
She credited Kara Simon, the office’s community engagement specialist, with overseeing organizational efforts for the two events.
“It took a ton of time, absolutely,” Dehghani-Tafti said of work putting them together.
She said both those who supported her efforts at restorative justice, and those critical of them, were welcomed.
“We make a very good case to people who are skeptical,” she said.
Also on hand were representatives of OAR of Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church, which works with the prosecutor’s office and court system to provide alternatives to prosecution and post-incarceration services.
“We’ve partnered with the commonwealth’s attorney’s office since 1980,” said Elizabeth Jones Valderrama, OAR’s executive director.
Those eligible for OAR’s services can be assigned community service work at nonprofits as part of sentencing, or can work through a diversion program totaling six to 18 months that could lead to elimination of charges.
The goal is to make jail or prison time a last resort for those who deserve another chance.
“There’s too many folks incarcerated,” Jones Valderrama told ARLnow.
Next up for the local court system is an expungement clinic slated for Saturday, May 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Arlington Presbyterian Church (918 S. Lincoln Street).
Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. The event only provides services related to charges from Arlington or Falls Church.
