Yes, it is important that a senior and experienced prosecutor oversee the investigation of these cases. This demonstrates the importance of these cases and the seriousness with which the office will take them.

I think it is extremely important that Manhattan has both a dedicated Vehicular Crimes Unit, as well as a Bureau Chief to oversee its operation. Both the Bronx and Brooklyn Bureau Chiefs have done excellent jobs in terms of developing programs and initiatives to combat vehicular crime in their respective counties. In the Bronx, they cooperated with the Department of Transportation to implement the Stop DWI Program, which helps fight drunk driving through public education and provides necessary funding to law enforcement. The Brooklyn Bureau created the Choices & Consequences Program, which prevents teenage drunk driving and reckless driving through education. Most importantly, though, we need a Bureau Chief to ensure that the Bureau is bringing together the specialized training and experience of its members to most effectively investigate and prosecute every vehicular crime. You simply cannot have a truly successful investigative and prosecutorial bureau, like the Vehicular Crimes Unit, without someone to coordinate the efforts of police and prosecutors.

I do believe that this position is important and necessary for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. When I spoke on Vehicular Crime at Cardozo Law School on June 3rd 2009, I discussed my desire to establish a Vehicular Crimes Unit within the District Attorney's office.

This Unit will focus on felony and misdemeanor cases involving traffic fatalities, traffic assaults, reckless driving, and other road violations. Prosecutors designated to the Unit will be trained to address the complex issues specific to vehicular crime and the significance of early intervention against dangerous drivers. First time offenders who disregard traffic laws must be disciplined with the intent to stop them from committing their vehicular crimes again, with deadly results; this strategy must be promoted by both prosecutors and police.

In addition, the members of this Unit will also receive substantial training in the forensics of automobile investigation and crash-site reconstruction, as well as comprehensive legal instruction and training in the complex laws of New York vehicular crime.