Intervention and Prevention

The Suffolk DA’s office is building partnerships with community, mental health and civic organizations to focus on intervention with at-risk individuals and prevention of crime. Some of our partners include North Suffolk Mental Health, Project R.I.G.H.T., Roca, La Colaborativa, the South End Forum, the Ella J. Baker House and numerous faith-based organizations. We seek to work with all of our community groups and members in a transparent way toward making streets and neighborhoods safer for all.  

Diversion

The Suffolk DA’s office emphasizes non-prosecution and diversion whenever possible.  We seek to avoid getting anyone involved in the court system unless their actions demand it.  We consider prosecutions on a case-by-case basis focused on the people involved and their needs, without a formulaic approach to certain charges. This provides the ability to holistically evaluate individual actions and individual needs. 

Fraud Fighters

Suffolk County Fraud Fighters is a multi-agency external effort designed to help Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop residents identify and avoid scams and fraud attempts. Our goal is to bring awareness and educate older adults and all residents of the different methods and tactics scammers are using. The Fraud Fighters presentation is not only informative, but interactive to help keep residents engaged and encouraged to ask questions. Presentations will be scheduled in various venues throughout Suffolk County.

Services Over Sentences (SOS)  

DA Hayden in 2022 announced $400,000 in funding for an expansion of the Services Over Sentences (SOS) program targeted at helping vulnerable individuals who reside in and around the Mass and Cass section of Boston.  The appropriation came from the office’s Asset Forfeiture Fund, which is made up of assets seized from drug dealers.  DA Hayden called the expenditure “a fitting use of assets seized from drug dealers to directly address the most visible and problematic drug-related geographic area in Massachusetts today.” The SOS program, run in conjunction with North Suffolk Community Services and other partners, is available in all courts, and will work with program participants at Mass and Cass and elsewhere on establishing a source of income, ensuring safe and stable housing, developing skills and educational training, ensuring access to healthy food and access to healthcare, detox and sobriety services.  The program helps identify and treat the factors involved in bringing individuals into the Mass and Cass area with the goal of providing the ability to leave it.

Animal Cruelty Task Force

DA Kevin Hayden in January 2024 joined with the Animal Rescue League, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and local, regional and state law enforcement agencies to create the Suffolk County Animal Cruelty Task Force. This multi-agency initiative is aimed at reducing abuse of animals and coordinating efforts to bring abusers to justice.

Specialty Courts

The Suffolk DA’s office uses an array of specialty courts for targeted support in its diversion, pre- or post-arraignment, and post-disposition programming. Recognizing the success of unique problem-solving strategies for different circumstances and categories of cases, the Suffolk DA’s office has assigned specially-trained staff to several specialty courts throughout the county. These specialized sessions help vulnerable populations comply with treatment plans, maintain sobriety, and resolve their low-level cases with intervention rather than incarceration.

  • Mental Health Court

  • Drug Court

  • Homeless Court

  • Boston Veterans Treatment Court 

Youth Advisory Council

District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s Youth Advisory Council is an opportunity for residents aged 13-17 from Boston, Revere, Chelsea, and Winthrop to make their voices heard about the public safety needs of Suffolk County. The mission of the council is to explore issues of juvenile justice, with the primary goal of building community while improving the health and safety of county youth.

Police and Prosecutor Accountability and Transparency 

Every citizen of Suffolk County deserves to be safe in their home, their school, their neighborhood and their workplace.  Public safety agencies are essential in assuring this safety.  Those agencies, including police and prosecutors, must act in a transparent and unbiased manner, providing equal application of the law to every citizen regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, religion or beliefs.  The Suffolk DA’s Integrity Review Bureau ensures accountability through four program areas: Case Integrity, Conviction Integrity, Sentencing Integrity and the Law Enforcement Automatic Discovery (LEAD) database. 

Integrity Review Bureau

The Integrity Review Bureau is the first of its kind in the nation and was launched in 2019. The IRB goes far beyond the work of the conviction integrity units operated by many other elected prosecutors across the country. It is responsible for reviewing policies and practices at each stage of a prosecution through four program areas. Case Integrity reviews sentinel events during a case such as a no bill by the grand jury, a judge granting a motion to suppress evidence, or a directed verdict. Conviction Integrity looks at post-conviction claims of innocence or wrongful convictions based on unconstitutional or unethical actions. Sentencing Integrity examines whether certain sentences have produced unjust results. And the recently announced Law Enforcement Automatic Discovery (LEAD) Database, includes law enforcement witnesses who have a history of misconduct or whose credibility has been challenged by a court or administrative agency. Click here to learn more about the Bureau. Click to fill out the IRB’s Case Inquiry Form.