New Year, New Safety and Justice Programs
As we kick-off 2024, I trust that our entire community is having a happy and healthy start to the new year. Our office has been hard at work for the last two weeks ensuring that we continue to build on our victim-centric, data-informed, and reform-minded policies in the new year.
Before the holiday season, I outlined my priorities for a second term, committing to this community to continue investing in our diversion programs and data systems, while doubling down on gun violence prevention and other serious offenses.
This week, my office announced two innovative new programs that will help us do just that.
You’ve heard me say it countless times, but it bears repeating: Fairfax County remains the safest community of its size, anywhere in the country. We’ve achieved this by focusing our resources on the most dangerous and serious offenses, and working towards a system where safety and justice work hand in hand.
On Monday, Sen. Tim Kaine joined our office for an event celebrating the success of our flagship diversion program, Taking Root, and announcing its new culinary job training element, Pathfinder Kitchen.
Taking Root is the largest prosecutor-led diversion program in Virginia and is administered by local nonprofit OAR. Sen. Kaine, who secured over $700,000 in federal funds for the program’s launch, praised Taking Root for its “innovative and strong” approach to addressing crime and reducing recidivism. Once in the program, participants, who have been charged with a non-violent crime, receive a specialized service plan that directly addresses the root causes of their criminal behavior — whether they need substance abuse treatment, job training, housing security, help with immigration matters, or conflict-resolution skills. In just its first year, over 100 individuals have been referred to the program and more than 20 have already graduated.
It was standing room only at Mackenzie’s, the local restaurant where Taking Root participants will be trained in culinary skills by Chef Duriel Barnes, a former DC police officer. After completing the six-week Pathfinder Kitchen program, participants will be hired directly into jobs in Fairfax City restaurants. This pilot program was made possible through a unique partnership of local government agencies, small business owners, and other community leaders to help address the complex problems facing our communities, and a shared commitment to working together to solve them and build safer and healthier Fairfax County.
Read more about the event here.
Just 24 hours later, I joined Chief Kevin Davis once more to announce yet another crime prevention program. Operation Press Check (OPC) is a new collaboration between police and prosecutors that will enable our agencies to closely share data and case information on certain types of gun crimes, aiming to further reduce gun violence in our community.
Fairfax law enforcement agencies already have a well-established track record for close coordination on gun violence prevention: namely our unparalleled work on Red Flag Orders (ESROs), where we lead the rest of the Commonwealth in removing firearms from individuals who may pose a danger to the community. Building off this existing partnership, Operation Press Check will help us get more illegal guns off the street, bring stronger cases in court, and address gaps in existing gun laws.
In addition to focusing on felon-in-possession (FIP) gun cases, we will also be looking at tracking untraceable crime guns and extended magazines. By thoroughly investigating such cases, we hope to identify upstream suppliers of illegal guns.
Read more about Operation Press Check here.
These new programs are all part of my office’s commitment to building a safer, stronger, and more just community — but we’re not stopping there.
We’ve made these significant steps in the first two weeks of the year, but throughout my second term, we’ll be investing in programs to tackle the most serious offenses impacting Fairfax County residents, while addressing the root causes of criminal behavior for lower-level offenders.
You can keep up with our office’s new programs on Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter).
