DA endorsement questionaire: Dan McCaffery
Philly for Change Candidate Questionnaire
Name: Dan McCaffery
Office Sought: Philadelphia District Attorney
Campaign website: www.mccafferyforda.com
Contact person: Danny Bauder
Email: dbauder@mccafferyforda.com
Phone: 215-856-3761
1) If elected, what will be your top priorities? Specifically, how will you make Philadelphia’s criminal justice system work better and, if possible, more efficiently?
I promise to bring courage, common sense, and compassion to every case. The District Attorney is chief gatekeeper to the criminal justice system. So we must make certain that we arrest the right people, charge them with appropriate offenses, and – after they are convicted – ensure that the sentences imposed fit their crimes.
First and foremost, my top priority shall be an unrelenting crackdown on gangs, drugs, and all forms of violence. The core mission of the DA’s office is to do everything it can to keep all Philadelphians safe. To that end, I have proposed the creation of an Anti-Gang and Narcotics Strike Force. Currently there is no unit in the DA’s office specifically designated to go after organized drug gangs, who are largely responsible for turning too many neighborhoods into shooting galleries.
Another top priority of mine will be renewing the fight against domestic violence – the number one cause of homicides against women. We simply cannot wait until another woman goes missing or gets shot (as happened twice just last week, according to news reports), before we take action. I will step up prosecutions against the violent men who beat and attack woman and children in these domestic disputes. Additionally, I will coordinate with appropriate agencies and non-profit groups to improve communication and better coordinate our efforts. I will personally lead a public relations effort to educate women where they can turn for help.
I also believe that the time has come to hold weak judges accountable. Too many judges appear more responsive to the party machine that helped elect them than to providing true justice to Philadelphians. They often show up late for work and then take extra-long lunch breaks, leaving our prosecutors, victims, and subpoenaed police personnel sitting around the courthouse waiting … and waiting … for their proceedings to occur. Weak judges are responsible for dismissing too many cases, allowing too many continuances at the request of defense attorneys seeking to delay justice, and setting bond too low, which has caused a glut of fugitives who now owe our financially-strapped city a billion dollars in forfeited bail.
When I become DA, I will name names by asking my assistant DAs to keep track of when judges show up in court. We will track sentences, dismissal rates, continuances, levels of bail, and other quality-of-fairness indicators. I will put all of this information on a publicly accessible website, so that Philadelphians will have no trouble knowing which judges earn their tax-funded salaries, and which do not.
Finally, I believe law enforcement has been failing our young people. We must stop taking a cookie-cutter approach to juvenile crime. All kids are different, each with a unique background. Simply arresting, prosecuting and detaining children – without intensively investigating and addressing the circumstances and family life of each and every individual child we encounter – remains a failing strategy. A better strategy will require us to invest more time, compassion, wisdom, and resources into our juvenile system.
2) Do you support the death penalty? If so, what would be your criteria for seeking it?
I must and do support the law on the books. Until the state legislature and governor change that law, I would be duty-bound to pursue the death penalty under certain aggravating circumstances. I personally support capital punishment as society's ultimate right to self-defense, but only for the most egregious of first-degree murderers.
That said, I believe the DA's office currently spends far too much time and money seeking death penalties and litigating subsequent appeals. The District Attorney does have broad discretion in these most serious matters. I have said publicly that, once installed as DA, I will divert millions of dollars currently spent upon capital cases in order to help reform our juvenile justice programs. Most death row inmates began their relationship with the criminal justice system as juveniles, so this is where the problem begins.
3) What steps do you support to help reduce gun violence in Philadelphia?
The first step is for the DA's office to stop offering plea bargains for criminals who use guns. In my administration, hoodlums carrying guns will be charged with the mandatory sentence for firearm possession and for all crimes they committed at gunpoint. I will establish a specialized unit to handle the prosecution of juvenile gun crimes and prosecute all adults who furnish guns to minors. We will send a clear message to the criminals, the cop-killers, those who would destroy our neighborhoods: if you possess an illegal gun, or use one illegally, you shall go to state prison.
I will also continue working with the attorney general to fund and promote our illegal firearms task force, which so far has taken nearly a thousand illegal guns off the streets, as well as locked up dangerous and irresponsible gun dealers.
4) What steps do you support to help reduce overcrowding in Philadelphia’s prisons?
The DA’s office has a great deal to do with alleviating overcrowded conditions in both Philadelphia’s and Pennsylvania’s prisons. For one thing, the DA should be pressing the governor and general assembly to implement those changes required under the Second Chance Act of 2008, so that city and state agencies can access the large amount of federal money annually available under that Act to fund rehabilitation projects and re-entry programs for prisoners. Included among the required changes would be the establishment of a statewide task force to deal with the overall problem, and to develop a five-year statewide budget for the programs. Increasing the number of rehabilitative and re-entry programs should, after all, help to alleviate inmate overcrowding.
As of now, the state’s re-entry program is solely run by the Department of Corrections. It is far from effective and has, in fact, been labeled a complete failure. Many other states have created separate departments to deal with rehabilitation and/or re-entry issues, as they typically involve programs administered and provided by other social agencies, and are not related to the core function of the DOC – which is to provide secure housing for dangerous offenders in a manner that protects the safety of both the surrounding community and the guards who work within those facilities.
The DA can also work with courts and other agencies (such as the county probation office and state parole board) to implement programs tending to shift the current focus of the criminal justice system from punishment of convicted criminals to rehabilitation of those offenders, and to prevention of crimes in the first place. Despite the fact that over 75% of all recidivists in the Keystone State come from Philadelphia, the DOC does not yet coordinate or work with Mayor Nutter’s Office for the Re-Entry of Ex-Offenders, or even the DA’s office, to develop and administer programs for preventing crime in the first place, instead of merely punishing those convicted.
Finally, the DA needs to work with the court system to eliminate continuances and other pre-trial activities which keep those charged with crimes in our local jails longer than is necessary.
5) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for first-time non-violent drug crimes, such as marijuana possession?
No.
6) Crime results from poverty, and lack of jobs and educational opportunity. Summarize briefly how you think the District Attorney’s office should fit in Philadelphia’s crime prevention efforts, including youth programs and re-entry programs for ex-offenders.
I will use my relationships with the building trades unions and other labor organizations to create re-entry employment programs that work in conjunction with the parole board and probation department. I will establish a DA's re-entry initiative which will work to get offenders off the streets through close supervision, coupled with real employment and educational opportunities. The program will provide ex-offenders with the job training, education, and guidance they need to reintegrate successfully into their families and neighborhoods, thereby dissuading them from criminal activity. Better yet, these programs can be created at no additional cost to the taxpayers, since they will be paid for by the participating unions.
7) What steps do you support to protect women in Philadelphia from discrimination and abuse?
Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of death among women. This is a tragic fact, and I will combat domestic violence by creating an aggressive public awareness campaign, and by making an example of abusers prosecuted by my office.
8) What steps do you support to protect the LGBT community from discrimination and abuse?
Hate crimes and all hate-based incidents are serious offenses; they shall get prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Recognizing the fear and stress typically suffered by victims of hate crimes and the far-reaching negative consequences that they have on our community, we will vigorously commit to enforcing hate-crime laws and will ensure proper and effective prosecution of them. Indeed, I plan to create a specialized LGBT Unit as part of the Victim Services Division. I hope to comprise this new unit of a lesbian and a gay man who will serve as victim advocates, assisting all LGBT victims of crime. These two advocates will be experienced in serving LGBT victims of sexual assault. We will use the full power of the District Attorney’s office to influence legislators to pass laws that better protect all citizens of Philadelphia, including the immediate restoration of mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity to the commonwealth’s Ethnic Intimidation Act.
I am the only candidate for District Attorney who has specifically mentioned that we need to treat all people – regardless of race, age, religion, or sexual orientation – with respect and dignity.
9) Philly For Change supports reform in government. How can the District Attorney’s office discourage corruption and promote transparency in government?
As DA, I will prosecute corruption whenever and wherever we find evidence of it. Pay-to-play politics remains an enduring stain on our city. I will hold my supporters to the highest ethical standards.
I was pleased that other candidates have followed my call to create an anti-corruption task force to clean up city government. I will look for an experienced corruption prosecutor to lead such an effort.
10) Philly for Change supports candidates who share our members’ ideals; however, we have limited resources. To maximize our effectiveness, tell us how—should you receive our endorsement—we can help you win.
Having grassroots support is a "must" for any winning campaign. I believe your organization can help me with direct voter contact. With your support, we could work together to identify voters who share our goal of a safer city, and persuade them to vote for my candidacy.
