State’s Attorney Alvarez Hosts National Prosecutors Conference

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez recently brought together top prosecutors and staff from major jurisdictions throughout the country for a conference in Chicago aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of prosecutors in their efforts to create safer communities in major metropolitan cities.

The two-day event, co-hosted by Alvarez and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, focused on criminal justice issues affecting major jurisdictions including reducing gun violence, improving and enhancing the process of eyewitness identification, and the development and operation of prosecutorial conviction integrity units.  The agenda was developed with input from all attendees, who participated in roundtable discussions about all issues and shared innovative developments in their own jurisdictions.

Attendees included prosecutors from Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Manhattan, Nashville, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle.

“This conference provided an extremely meaningful opportunity for spirited discussion and collaboration between my office and similar jurisdictions across the nation,” Alvarez said.  “We are all dedicated to the pursuit of justice and the best way to improve upon that goal is to share both common and individual experiences and ideas with our counterparts.”

The conference also included a presentation on the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Regional Organized Crime Task Force. State’s Attorney Alvarez formed the nation’s first Regional Organized Crime Task Force in 2010, to serve as a public/private partnership between businesses and law enforcement dedicated to combating the escalating incidents of organized retail theft and fencing operations.

The Association of Prosecuting Attorneys was founded as a national think tank to provide prosecutors with timely training and technical assistance, and is dedicated to facilitating the exchange of ideas between criminal justice partners throughout the country.