As members of the Red Ribbon Coalition, the Attorney General’s Office is contributing their efforts through various educational outreaches held in public and private elementary, middle and high schools.
Attorney General Lenny Rapadas, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Luke, and spokeswoman Carlina Charfauros on Tuesday spent some time with the Variety to discuss some of the activities their agency is doing for Red Ribbon Month and some details into the work they do as they deal with drug cases.
“So much of our job has been, in the past, prosecution and just putting them in jail, and that’s Jonathan’s role as a prosecutor to get these guys in jail,” stated Rapadas in referring to drug offenders.
“But overall what we’re finding is that a good percentage of offenders – whether they be drug offenders, family violence or DUIs – are first offenders and could benefit from education, counseling, a myriad of things that the courts provide or social services provide,” he said. “And they’ll never do it again.”
The main focus of the AG’s Office, Rapadas indicated, is to educate the children on the dangers of drugs.
“We’re finding that the more we get into education, the better it works out for us in the long run,” he said.
The AG’s Office isn’t the only agency working hard to promote a drug-free community for children. The Red Ribbon Coalition this year is comprised of over 30 local and federal government agencies and private and nonprofit organizations.
