In September, The People’s Office welcomed visitors from around the world, recognized Hispanic Heritage Month, and educated the public about important elements of our judicial system. Your September 2024 Community Newsletter has arrived.
After years of hard work and discussion, Governor Katie Hobbs signed HB 2742 in response to the concerns of Tucson bus drivers. County Attorney Laura Conover participated in the creation of the bill from the start after meeting and listening to local leaders. The goal is to hold those who assault transit workers accountable at the felony level.
88-Crime recently won two awards from the National Chapter of Crime Stoppers USA for an educational PSA about the organization’s work in Pima County and a community service award for serving a population of over one million people. The awards include the 2024 Community Service Award for PSA TV Media and the 2024 Community Service Award.
The purpose of 88-CRIME is to prevent and reduce crime by forming a partnership with the community, law enforcement, and the media. 88-CRIME is guided by the best practices of Crime Stoppers USA while offering anonymity and cash rewards of up to $2,500 to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of a felon or fugitive.
The 88-CRIME program is among one of the most successful and cost-effective crime-fighting tools available to law enforcement. 88-CRIME will never ask for the tipster’s name, and it is this anonymity that enables people to offer information without fear of retaliation.
Tipsters are given a confidential tip code number which must be kept private. You can use this tip code number to add information, check on the status of your tip, and collect your cash reward.
On a toasty September morning, PCAO got a refresh of sorts. Our office received some much-needed computer monitors and other equipment. It was awesome to see our IT team pour out of the building to help move cars, briefly shut down Pennington, get the delivery truck turned around to the loading dock, and unload pallets. Talk about teamwork!! THANK YOU!!
PCAO took part in the 2024 Girl Scout Takeover Day earlier in the month. Laura was able to spend a big part of her day with high school junior Leia Begay. The duo attended events starting with Laura speaking at a Crisis Intervention Training at the VA, then they met a group of international prosecutors and investigators from the Citizen Diplomacy Alliance.
The group came from 19 different countries ranging from Macedonia to Romania, Spain, and Italy. The day ended with Leia observing our prosecution process and how cases are brought to trial.
Known as being adventurous, clever, and limitless Leia is proud of the many patches that she’s earned over the years and wears them proudly on her Girl Scout vest. Way to go, Leia, we’re looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for you.
Laura recently made her quarterly stop at the Bill Buckmaster show to talk about current judicial issues within Pima County. She also discussed the importance of restorative justice.
Laura stopped by the Bill Buckmaster show to answer some tough questions, she also gave some insight into the history of restorative justice and its impact on our judicial system.
Here at The People’s Office, we’re celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by sharing the stories of people at PCAO whose lives and career paths were shaped by family and community.
Angelica Garcia doesn’t have to look beyond her family to explain why she’s proud of her Hispanic heritage.
“My mom,” the Civil Division paralegal quickly answered when asked about the source of her pride. “She is from Nogales, Mexico, and just knowing how hard it was for her. She did everything to come over here legally. It was a struggle for her. She was a stay-at-home mom with seven of us.”
Seeing how Alicia Garcia handled the responsibility of motherhood made a strong impression on her youngest child, who brought that lesson along into adulthood.
“My mom and dad instilled in me hard work to have a better life,” she said. “I have a great work ethic because of them. I know it wasn’t always easy. My dad was the main breadwinner for a long time when they had seven of us. I don’t know how they did it, but they made ends meet.”
After her father suffered a traumatic head injury when she was in high school, Angelica’s mom had to do it on her own.
“She retired in 2009, making $20,000 a year,” she said of her mother, who now lives with Angelica. “I tell her, ‘Mom, I don’t know how you did it with seven of us, making what you did.’ But we always had food on the table, and a roof over our heads.”
It was that upbringing that helped shape Angelica, who started working at the Pima County Attorney’s Office in 2011. Her work at PCAO has taken on many forms, moving from legal processing of misdemeanor cases to receptionist, working on felony cases, and providing victim notification.
In her current position as a paralegal, Angelica prepares legal filings for attorneys working on civil cases.
In addition to her regular job, Angelica can be found often volunteering on behalf of “The People’s Office” at community events around Pima County.
With family roots connecting her to both Sonora and Los Angeles, Angelica feels at home in Tucson, where her parents arrived following a major 1973 earthquake in Southern California. She and her five remaining siblings all call Pima County home.
Angelica is now raising her 14-year-old daughter Alina, whose Quinceañera will be held in November while making time to teach Sunday School at Our Lady of Fatima and doing her best to set the example for future generations.
Dale Cardy, Supervising Attorney in PCAO’s Juvenile Unit, was joined by members of the communications team and volunteers for the 2024 Annual Teen Maze, a life-sized board game designed to help local teens understand the consequences of making poor decisions.
The event, which was held on September 27 at Tucson Mall, involved about 125 middle school students from the Marana and Sunnyside school districts who went from room to room, agency to agency, to better prepare them for the pressures and decisions that can derail their lives.
The event is based on a scenario where a student is caught with a vapor device on campus, the students learned that they don’t need to be caught using a vape pen to land in hot water. Merely carrying one as a favor to a classmate can have dire consequences.
“We do this because we care about you, and we want you to succeed,” Cardy told the students as he explained the consequences of making bad decisions.
The People’s Office also handed out bicycle reflectors, gun locks, Narcan spray, along with information about the office, candy, pencils, and other items intended to educate and make the community safer.
Thank you to the Enlightening Hope Project for inviting us to the 4th Annual Overdose Awareness Event to help bring awareness to the community about substance abuse and to remember loved ones who have passed from an overdose. Together We Can #endoverdose in Pima County.
PCAO also participated in this year’s Homicide Survivors National Day of Remembrance event. We were all able to help hand out food that was brought in from the family members. The dishes shared were the favorites of the loved ones they lost. While it was an event to help loved ones grieve their losses, it was also very impactful, and everyone who attended was supportive of each other.
PCAO set up shop at this year’s Sunnyside Foundation Burrito Run and Health and Wellness Fair. There were tons of organizations gathered at Mission Manor Park that received health services and food assistance. Our team shared what we do at The People’s Office, we also handed out Narcan and gunlocks to the public.
PCAO set up shop at this year’s Sunnyside Foundation Burrito Run and Health and Wellness Fair. There were tons of organizations gathered at Mission Manor Park that received health services and food assistance. Our team shared what we do at The People’s Office, we also handed out Narcan and gunlocks to the public.
We recruit legal researchers, litigators, and professional staff who use their unique talents to move our Office forward. You’re invited to apply to work for a progressive prosecuting agency that values accountability, public service, and outcome-driven thinking.
We offer excellent work-life balance, great incentives, and a generous benefits package, including:
All open PCAO positions APPLY HERE
There are a variety of positions to apply for at PCAO
We produced our latest episode of The People’s Office Podcast with a focus on the Fresh Start 2024 Expo set for October 19th from 9 am-1 pm at the TCC.
Laura had in-depth conversations with Dr. Da’ Mond Holt the creator of Fresh Start International, Tom Cortese advocate and participant in the program, and PCAO Restorative Justice Coordinator Emmanuelle Fahey.
They talked about the importance of restorative justice and giving people a fresh start in life once they reenter society after serving time in prison.
Here’s a look at some of the links to social media and podcast messages we’ve shared throughout the year.
All Podcast episodes are available here:
https://thepeoplesofficepodcast.podbean.com/
Social Media Posts:
The PCAO communications team attended the Juneteenth Sponsor Dinner and captured the swearing-in of new attorneys at PCAO.
Meanwhile, PCAO Criminal Criminal Intelligence Analyst, Sean Rembaran shared some pictures from his trip to the International Association of Crime Analysts Training Conference in Las Vegas. There were 800 attendees from 13 countries. For the opening ceremonies, Sean was selected to hold the American flag.
He gave two presentations: the first was about courtroom testimony, and the second was about the role of analysts in a prosecutor’s office. In that presentation, he was joined by colleagues from the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office (NY) and the International Criminal Court (The Hague, Netherlands). Fantastic work Sean!!!
The PCAO Community Newsletter is published and distributed monthly.
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