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Violent street crime is a societal plague. It needs to be fought aggressively and relentlessly. One of the first acts of the Soares Administration was to consolidate the prosecution of gangs, guns, and drugs into a single unit, the Street Crimes Bureau. There are eight strategic elements in order to coordinate the prosecution of these related crimes: 1. Streamline the prosecution process through the use of SCI's to free up important resources and time for investigations of major drug distributors, use of Alternative Sentencing Programs, and the use of the Community Accountability Boards. 2. The implementation of Operation Speeding Bullet to expedite the processing of all gun related crimes. ADAs are instructed to oppose bail for all gun related crimes and to ensure that all cases involving guns get processed rapidly. 3. Investigate major drug dealers and distributors aggressively. Instead of focusing only on street corner drug sales, this office is working with local law enforcement to conduct long-term investigations of major dealers and distributors using wiretaps, controlled buys, confidential informants and search warrants to build cases against those drug king pins who carefully hide behind younger gangs whose job it is to take the rap and serve the time for their bosses. 4. Use federal RICOH statutes to hold gang members accountable for the crimes of their fellow members. Use the principle of "collective accountability" to take entire gangs off the streets. 5. Use mapping and advanced prosecution software to establish links and relationships between gang members, drug dealers, suppliers, and gun merchants to target crack houses and criminal enterprises. 6. Coordinate the efforts of all public agencies in the fight against gangs, drugs, and guns. This would include Social Services, Housing, Probation, and Parole to fight the drug infrastructure. In recent cases, this office has found that drug dealers hide behind friends and/or girlfriends to rent housing, apply for food stamps, and do the grunt work of transporting drugs. 7. Work with Landlords to Evict Dealers. The Narcotics Eviction program is designed to provide landlords with the tools and training to eliminate drug dealing from their properties. When landlords are unsuccessful in dealing with problem tenants, we will seek evictions at locations where illegal activites have occured. 8. Fight gang recruitment efforts by launching a series of preventative efforts to provide alternatives for youth. An example of a recent initiative is the "Bring It to the Courts" basketball tournament. "There is nothing simple about the fight against street crime. But with a coordinated, intelligent approach targeting major dealers and distributors, we will win this battle." - P. David Soares 5/03/05 Biography of Cheryl Fowler Fowler is a twelve year veteran of the Albany County DA's office. Cheryl has had a distinguished career having been named Arson Prosecutor of the Year by the NYS Fire Investigation Association in 1999 and having won the 1997 Daniel S. Dwyer Memorial Award issued by Albany County STOP DWI. In addition to prosecuting DWI and Arson cases, Fowler has participated in virtually every kind of criminal prosecution in the office including Police Court, Town Courts, Burglaries and Homicides. Fowler received her Juris Doctor from Albany Law School in 1992 and graduated magna cum laude with her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice in 1989 SUNY Albany. Prior to joining the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, she served as a Law Clerk for Chief Assistant District Attorney Daniel S. Dwyer from January 1991 to January 1993. She also served as a Legislative Intern for Congressman George Wortley during the summer of 1988. Fowler runs one of the Office’s largest bureaus which includes 6 Assistant District Attorneys, a full time investigator, and two clerks.
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