The Role of the Suffolk County District Attorney
The elected District Attorney oversees, manages, and runs the entire Suffolk County District Attorney's Office (“SCDAO”). There are nearly 300 employees working at SCDAO at over 11 different work sites. The Office handles approximately 20,000 cases a year stemming from crimes committed in Boston, Chelsea, Winthrop, and Revere. The District Attorney is responsible for a budget of over $26 million dollars. Being a District Attorney is a consequential job, dealing in matters of life or death.
The District Attorney’s office serves as the backbone of our criminal justice system. From the Juvenile courts and the Boston Municipal and Chelsea District court systems, to Suffolk Superior Court, and the appellate Courts in our Commonwealth. Over her career, Rachael has practiced, managed, and led in each - prosecuting and orchestrating some of the largest cases and legal decisions in the history of Massachusetts.
Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office Under Rachael Rollins
(2019-2022)
When Rachael had the privilege of leading the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office from 2019 to 2022, it was one of the most innovative and effective offices in the country. As shown by the ACLU’s What a Difference a DA Makes campaign, district attorneys have enormous power and discretion. District attorneys choose which cases to prosecute — or not. They have complete autonomy and the power to create written policies, new initiatives, units, and more.
When Rachael was elected Suffolk Country District Attorney:
Rachael was the first woman to ever serve as the Suffolk County District Attorney in the history of the office (which opened in 1806!).
Rachael was the first DA in the United States to sue ICE and win. Rachael joined her colleague - the Middlesex County DA - and legally challenged ICE’s practice of making civil (as opposed to criminal) arrests inside of courthouses.
Rachael led the Nation by creating the first Discharge Integrity Team (DIT) in a prosecutors office. The DIT assisted DA Rollins in her investigations of officer-involved shootings and allegations of excessive force and had a community member serving on the team. This team no longer exists, and under the current District Attorney, the DA’s Office currently has no written protocol on officer-involved shootings. And people are not happy.
Rachael launched the Project for Unsolved Suffolk Homicides (PUSH) and began clearing a backlog of decades-old homicide cases. In many cases, the family members of homicide victims had not heard from detectives or prosecutors in years. There are currently over 1,300 unsolved homicides if Suffolk County dating back to 1960. The current administration has no dedicated prosecutors or staff handling these cases.
Rachael created the Law Enforcement Automatic Discovery (LEAD) database, to track police officers who commit perjury or other misconduct.
Rachael built the Integrity Review Bureau, a first-of-its-kind unit to review wrongful convictions and cases involving claims of innocence. In just three years, Rachael took action on approximately 20 convictions resulting in over 500 years of wrongful incarceration being overturned to date. Every decision was approved and supported by a Superior Court judge.
During COVID, the Suffolk County DA’s Office had the first Grand Jury up and running in the entire country.
Rachael had meaningful, community-informed written policies (like The Rollins Memo) and believed in data collection and analysis to back up the Office’s policies and inform the work. When it came to data, the DA’s Office under Rachael led the country in that effort.
Restore the Mandate:
Vote for Rachael September 1
When Rachael won in 2018, more than 80% of Suffolk County voters sent a clear message: they wanted their DA’s office to do things differently. They wanted their DA to be innovative and more transparent — and that is what Rachael delivered, starting on Day One.
Rachael understands redemption personally and knows that acknowledgement and healing can produce enormous change. She will unapologetically fight for the safety and well-being of the people of Suffolk County.
Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office Under DA Kevin Hayden
(2022-Present)
Just as Rachael had the power and discretion to implement these innovative policies, practices, and initiatives which led to large public safety gains, Kevin Hayden had the discretion to terminate all of this work on Day One, which he inexplicably did. Despite evidence that prosecuting certain types of nonviolent minor cases causes more future crime, DA Hayden threw out Rachael’s policies on these cases and discontinued the Office’s partnerships with nation-leading researchers. Just as these researchers predicted, after record low crime rates under Rachael, Suffolk County is now experiencing increases in Part One Crime, including aggravated assault, nonfatal shootings, and an increase in the number of shooting victims (which is currently up 15% from last year!).
Under Rachael, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office was committed to community engagement, responsiveness, transparency, and access. None of that is happening now. It is simply not a priority.
Under DA Hayden, the Office does not prioritize written policies. No data collection. Invite-only, secret meetings about officer-involved shootings in our community. We should not have to endorse the District Attorney, contribute to his campaign, or be required to "know somebody that knows somebody" in order to get information about homicides, crimes, and other events impacting our community. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is a PUBLIC OFFICE THAT OUR TAX DOLLARS PAY FOR.