DISTRICT ATTORNEY BROWN URGES QUEENS LEGISLATORS NOT TO TINKER WITH NEW YORK'S DRUG LAWS AND ALSO OUTLINES YEAR'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown met last Friday with City, State, and Federal legislators from Queens during the D.A.'s Annual Legislative Breakfast to urge them not to ease the drug laws and to discuss last year's accomplishments of the District Attorney's Office.

"We have got to think long and hard before we begin to tinker with our drug laws," District Attorney Richard A. Brown told the Queens legislators. "Vigorous enforcement of our drug laws has played a very significant role in the dramatic reduction of crime – particularly violent crime – in our City. Drug dealing is big business and drug dealers use violence to protect their turf, intimidate witnesses, rob one another and punish those who threaten their livelihood. Having come so far and having reduced violent crime in our communities so dramatically, it would be a serious mistake to take away from law enforcement the tools that have enabled us to make our streets safer."

"Those who seek reform would have us believe that our prisons are filled with small-time drug offenders who are locked up for fifteen years or more," District Attorney Brown said. "But that is just not the case."

"Most drug offenders are in prison today not because they possessed a small amount of drugs and have been swept up by the Rockefeller Drug Laws, but because they repeatedly sold drugs to make money or possessed large quantities of drugs intended for distribution to local communities – or because they have prior conviction for violent felonies," District Attorney Brown continued.

District Attorney Brown stated that 67% of drug felons in state prison today are second felony offenders and 86% of drug felons are in state prison not for a mere possession of drugs but for sale or intent to sell drugs. He also stated that in those cases where a drug offender's crimes are genuinely tied to a substance abuse problem, those offenders are diverted into treatment under the District Attorney's DTAP and drug court programs.

"To the extent that the Governor has expressed a willingness to allow the courts – through the appellate process – to review those rare cases in which first offenders are serving life sentences for possession only, prosecutors are supportive," District Attorney Brown said. "But to go beyond that – to dismantle our drug and second felony offender laws which have been so successful in lowering the level of violence in our society would be a serious mistake."

District Attorney Brown also outlined his office=s accomplishments during the past year citing substantial reductions in the crime rate throughout Queens County. He pointed out that index crimes declined 10.76% in Queens North last year and 7.29% in Queens South. Crimes in all of the major categories went down, especially violent crime. Homicides declined from 121 in 1999 to 112, in spite of the deaths of 5 Wendy's workers who lost their lives so tragically in Flushing last May.

"The year 2000 figures represent an unbelievable drop from 1992 – my first full year as District Attorney – when there were 357 homicides in the county," said District Attorney Brown. That is a 68% decline in homicides over the past eight years. And there have been similar declines in other categories as well – including a 75.3% from the 50,000 cars reported stolen in 1990. I think it is fair to say that we have now become a much safer county in which to live and work," said the District Attorney.

Many of these dramatic reductions can be attributed to the NYPD's enhanced crime control strategies and to the District Attorney Office's prosecutorial and investigative techniques – including obtaining convictions and long sentences for career criminals and violent predators.

District Attorney Brown also cited dramatic reductions in crime in the areas of auto crime, domestic violence, criminal activity in and around the airports, and economic crimes.