F R O M
T H E
S T A T E
A T T O R N E Y
An d re w H. Wa r re n - St at e At t o r n ey fo r t h e T h i r t e e n t h Ju d i c i a l Ci rc u i t
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the extraordinary work that our prosecutors do every day.
Here are a few of the steps that we are taking to increase
our engag ement with the community:
• Quarterly Community Workshops. We have
established quarterly workshops, open to the public,
at which my prosecutors and I talk about important
issues facing our criminal justice system. The
workshops rotate throughout the county, and the
topics addressed change based on current news and
events. Every Community Workshop begins with an
introduction to the office and an update on new
policies or initiatives, and it ends with a question-
and-answer session where community members have
the opportunity to directly ask me questions that
are important to them. We also live-stream the
workshops on our Facebook page. Between live
attendance and streaming, we reached more than
2,000 Hillsborough County residents with our
Community Workshops in 2017.
• Internal Community Engage ment Task Force.
We have established an internal State Attorney’s
Office Community Engagement Task Force (CETF)
that consists of service-minded prosecutors and staff
members. The purpose of the CETF is to increase
our office’s community service and outreach, and
discover and organize ways in which we can better
serve the public and our partners. Look for increased
outreach to schools and kids through mock trial
programs, criminal justice education awareness
MAR - APR 2018
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HCBA LAWYER
initiatives, and partnerships with organizations that
share our mission of a safer, stronger Hillsborough.
• Increased Communications Tools. Those that
follow our office on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube
know that we have increased our social media
presence and interaction to expand our office’s reach.
(Follow us at @sao13th!) We are also establishing a
periodic newsletter to share information and news
about the office, new initiatives, and selected matters
of importance within our local, statewide, and
national criminal justice system. Also, 2018 will see
a new, user-friendly website to increase our
information-sharing capabilities.
• Policy Initiative Awareness Campaigns and
Listening Tours. In addition to our Community
Workshops, we have increased regular meetings with
community leaders, organizations, and residents to
spread the word about new policy initiatives and
programs at the State Attorney’s Office; to better
involve the community in policy development; and
to expand our opportunities to receive feedback. In
2017, we embarked upon a Listening Tour with
Hillsborough County criminal defense attorneys,
community leaders, partner organizations like the
Crisis Center, and law enforcement. We also engaged
in awareness campaigns for the newly expanded
juvenile civil citation program, as well as the new
initiative to disarm domestic abusers.
We are committed to increased community
engagement, and we value all the benefits it brings
to Hillsborough County.
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