Criminal Justice

In addition to the District Attorney’s office, there are many federal, state and local entities which are charged with advancing the interest of public safety. Such entities include the following:

The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
(“DCJS”) The DCJS is a division of the New York state government which is charged with “enhancing public safety and improving criminal justice.” The DCJS website contains a wide range of information relating to improving criminal justice in New York.

Tompkins County Department of Probation and Community Justice
The Department of Probation and Community Justice has several responsibilities that relate closely to the work of the District Attorney’s office. Amongst those duties are the preparation of pre-sentence reports about defendants and the supervision of defendants who are sentenced to a term of probation. Frequently, members of the Probation Department will contact victims directly to gather the victim’s input for inclusion in the pre-sentence report. The District Attorney’s office encourages victims to cooperate with the Probation Department to ensure the judge hears the victim’s perspective prior to imposing sentence.

Tompkins County Law Enforcement
In Tompkins County there are numerous law enforcement agencies. Some of these agencies are responsible for portions of the county (e.g., village and city police departments) whereas other agencies have legal authority to act throughout the county (e.g., New York State Police and Tompkins County Sheriff’s office). See a listing of Tompkins County Law Enforcement.