Crime and Punishment in Albany County

Soares became the chief law enforcer without the support of the local law enforcement. He has been pleased to discover that most law enforcement officers want what is best for the community. He is often surprised by people who want to work with him to help the community. On the other hand, he has had a frustrating education in the role of politics. Soares assured us that if someone said, “We need more oxygen,” there would be a fight because even good ideas spark arguments.

Soares discussed Charles Heines, the progressive District Attorney in Kings County. Heines developed the crime prevention program Drug Treatment Alternatives to Prison (DTAP) that offers education and vocational training for nonviolent criminals. New York State copied this program as Road to Recovery with several models to take advantage of each county’s resources. Ten people participated in the trial program. There was a request for proposals to expand the program to 30 people. Soares found it ironic that of the three members of the panel deciding the expansion, both he (the prosecutor) and the judge wanted to expand the program, but the mental health doctor opposed them because of the cost. Soares cited the incident as a case of politics getting in the way of common sense.

In terms of education, there is much argument in Albany County about the role of public schools and charter schools, but no one is discussing the background that students bring to school. Soares stated that there is a school-to-prison pipeline so clear that school pictures are used to identify crime suspects. When Soares wanted law-enforcement officers to identify all of the players in the criminal system, such as gang members, almost every single person that was identified was less than 25 years old. The most important question that needs to be answered to improve crime prevention is, “What school did they attend?” Soares noted that schools are becoming like prisons in the use of security systems such as metal detectors and surveillance cameras.

As a prosecutor, Soares usually knows more about a defendant than anyone else. But he has learned that as the system has functioned in the past, while details such as age, crime history, background, and information on family are carefully collected, this information is used only for the prosecution of the case without trying to help the affected family. Schools are not informed ahead of time about children’s parents who are going through the criminal system. Consequently schools do not know to look for and address the children’s problems. In comparison, the private sector values data about their consumers. The government does not use data effectively.

The four main problem areas in Albany are Arbor Hill, West End, South End, and Park South. Soares wants a records-management system to share information about law enforcement calls. By using these calls to pinpoint problems, he can be proactive in solving them. He wants to get out of the office and see the problems firsthand and needs the community to work with law enforcement.

The Safe Homes Safe Streets program works with landowners to evict drug dealers once warrants have been executed. Before a criminal conviction can be obtained, the preponderance of evidence can be used in civil court to evict a criminal out of a neighborhood. Soares explained the role of the community in identifying problem houses. One house in particular had 180 visits from law enforcement over the course of 5 years.

Soares feels good about his job because he can do something to change someone’s life. He encourages the different parts of the community to talk together to take action effectively. For example, 50% of the people being arraigned have been through the Albany mental health system at least once. If the mental health experts do their job properly, Soares can do his job more easily.

Soares sees poor services for crime victims because of poor allocation of resources. Programs that he would like to see improved include the Sexual Assault Services Nursing Program to help rape victims, and a child trauma program in which an abused child is interviewed by just one specialist and observed by hidden interested parties (such as lawyers) so that the child does not have to endure 15 interviews recounting the abuse.

In Pine Hills, the citizens have a different perception of crime than the mayor. Opportunists seek rich, unwary college students in Pine Hills. Soares emphasized the need to teach students how to take care of themselves (by locking doors and being aware of their surroundings) and the importance of neighborhood watch programs to deter crime.

According to Soares, most crime in Albany County is not from New York City. He explained that we need to address local causes of crime regardless of where the criminals are from.