Summit County Prosecutor's Office Innovative Programs.

• Author: Walsh, Sherri Bevan

As SUMMIT COUNTY PROSECUTOR, my mission is to hold criminals accountable, keep our community safe, and fight for victims. By aggressively prosecuting serious crimes, we fight for justice and protect the rights of victims. We are an advocate for crime victims, keeping them informed of their rights, updating victims on their cases, and ensuring victims have a voice. Through our continuous safety and self-defense programs, scam alerts, and our annual senior safety calendar, we strive to make our community a better place to live.

As part of that mission, I have developed over a dozen innovative programs to help victims and minimize a persons chances of becoming a victim.

The easiest way to show that is to focus on my office's favorite employee. He has four legs, is covered in fur, and helps victims. Avery is our facility dog, dedicated to comforting and assisting victims of crime, especially children. Avery has been in my office for over five years, helping more than 200 victims. Until recently, my office was the only prosecutor's office in Ohio which had a facility dog. Avery's ability in helping crime victims and their families navigate the sometimes overwhelming justice system has been immeasurable. He sits with crime victims during meetings and when they testify in court. Avery empowers them to tell their story. I've even heard children ask when can they come back to the office to see Avery. Before we got Avery, I never heard a child ask when they can come back to a prosecutor's office.

My office also works extremely hard in educating the community on how to stay safe. We hold monthly FREE self-defense classes for women where we provide simple, easy to use techniques such as how to get away if someone grabs you or how to escape a choke hold. These classes, as well as safety speeches and events, all help minimize a person's chance of becoming a victim. Each year I declare September as Senior Safety Awareness Month to focus even more attention on protecting seniors. Throughout the entire month of September, Summit County Prosecutor's Office employees are involved in community events, educating as many senior citizens as possible about scams, criminal activity, and how to protect...