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Safety.Justice.Reform.
What is a Commonwealth’s Attorney?
The Commonwealth’s Attorney is the top prosecutor for Arlington and the City of Falls Church, and is responsible for:
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The Commonwealth's Attorney is the community's chief elected law enforcement official. Parisa has focused on prosecuting serious crimes that jeopardize the safety, welfare, and well-being of the community, while also stopping the prosecution of crimes like simple possession of marijuana because it's a waste of money and exacerbates existing racial disparities.
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The Commonwealth's Attorney is responsible for protecting both the victim and the accused. Parisa has empowered victims through an innovative restorative justice program while at the same time she works hard to make sure that the constitutional rights of defendants are fully and fairly respected.
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The Commonwealth's Attorney plays a vital role in fixing a system that for generations used punishment as a proxy for justice and incarceration as a proxy for safety. Parisa has made it a priority to offer counseling and treatment to kids and adults in need of substance abuse and mental health treatment.
Parisa’s Promises
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Delivered! - We’ve centered prosecutions on violent crimes, gun crimes, sexual offenses, and crimes against children, and we’ve obtained convictions in unresolved homicide and rape cases left behind from the prior administration.
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Delivered! - We instituted a victims-focused prosecution model where one attorney is responsible for a case from start to finish so victims don’t get shuffled around to multiple prosecutors, never knowing who bears responsibility for their case.
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Delivered! - In nearly three years our office has never certified a child as an adult. We’ve also protected people’s DACA status, fashioned resolutions that avoid deportation, and vacated a wrongful conviction that would have separated an immigrant mother from her child.
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Delivered! - Ceased prosecuting simple possession of marijuana because it’s a waste of time and money, and exacerbated existing racial disparities.
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Delivered! - Stop seeking cash bail because it unfairly keeps people in jail simply because they are poor, causing them to lose their jobs, their housing, and even their children. Instead, we ask for people to be held if they pose a danger or a flight risk. Additionally, the jail population is 30% lower than when I took office and has remained at historic lows – something that was particularly crucial during the pandemic and helped Arlington avoid a COVID outbreak in our jail.
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Delivered! - Attorneys are now provided with prompt electronic discovery instead of being required to come to a room to take notes.
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Delivered! - We implemented a mental health docket that does not require anyone to plead to a criminal offense before getting help. We’ve already had a number of graduates and the program is over capacity.
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Delivered! - Before I took office, drug court had never served more than a handful of people, and served only four people in 2019. It’s now nearly at capacity.
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Delivered! - We’ve helped build Restorative Arlington and we’ve launched our pilot program, Heart of Safety.
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Delivered! — Our office has not seized a single dollar in civil asset forfeiture just because someone has been accused of a crime and I supported legislation that codified that.
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Delivered! - Within 18 months of taking office we had a Critical Incident Response Team and a Community Oversight Board in the works. These were firsts in the history of our community.
Endorsements
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News and Updates
NEWS: Washington Post Endorses Parisa Dehghani-Tafti for Re-Election
“In Arlington and Falls Church, we believe incumbent Parisa Dehghani-Tafti should be reelected. She has brought fewer cases than her predecessor but claims she achieved a higher conviction rate by not stacking charges…Ms. Dehghani-Tafti has pursued mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl dealers because the drug is so prevalent, dangerous and cheap.”
NEWS: Falls Church News Press Endorses Dehghani-Tafti for Re-Election
“In the Arlington-Falls Church Commonwealth Attorney race, the incumbent completing her first term, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, is being met by a challenge from her former employee, Josh Katcher. Both claim to advocate for progressive criminal justice reform but Katcher is claiming that Parisa has not been up to the challenge. However, many of the criticisms of her reflect, frankly, a sexist tone that has much less to do with how well she’s actually doing her job and she has many prominent endorsements supporting her.”
News: Arlington is one of the safest localities in America, new study suggests
“Arlington County is one of the top 15 safest “cities” in the United States, according to a new set of rankings. The number crunchers at SmartAsset looked at violent and property crime rates, as well as rates of vehicle-related deaths, drug-related deaths and excessive drinking.”