Build a better and safer Iowa

Then Attorney General Robert Kennedy believed the Department of Justice's most critical - and fundamental - responsibility was to build 'a better and a safer world ... a world in which people will be free to realize their own talents and fulfill their own destiny.”

With that in mind, as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, my 2016 goals include building a better and safer Iowa by expanding on my office's past achievements while simultaneously shining light on additional areas of prosecution and community outreach that merit our attention and commitment. Meeting modern challenges in our changing world requires us to be receptive to new ideas. We will accomplish this by fostering increased collaboration between law enforcement organizations and the communities they protect. We will continue to use our prosecutorial power in a just manner, focusing on the most serious offenders and the most vulnerable victims. We will pursue new and increased outreach efforts in the areas of crime prevention and ex-offender re-entry.

Engaging community members and law enforcement agencies across the Northern District will continue to be a top priority in 2016. Law enforcement works best when it works together with the community it serves. One of the primary reasons Iowa is a great place to live and raise a family is that all levels of Iowa law enforcement work as a team. This is a lesson I know well and one I will always support. The United States Attorney's Office plays a critical role in the manner in which law enforcement helps Iowans. In 2016, we will build on this collaborative law enforcement success by increasing community involvement in criminal justice issues. Increased community involvement will strengthen Iowans' confidence in our law enforcement agencies and, at the same time, help law enforcement agencies better protect the communities they serve. We have every right to hold our law enforcement officers to the highest standards of conduct. So we are especially fortunate in Iowa to have such strong leadership guiding our brave, honest and patient federal, state and local officers who perform a difficult job in these challenging times.

The United States Attorney Office has both the power to prosecute, and the ability to use appropriate restraint. Toward that end, we must stay vigilant in our pursuit of justice, while knowing that compassion and justice are not choices but companions. In 2016, we will continue to make prosecutorial decisions in a manner that ensures that we are using our prosecutorial resources fairly and appropriately. We will concentrate on prosecuting the worst of the worst offenders - particularly those that prey on the most vulnerable in our society. We will continue to focus on prosecuting violent crime, financial fraud, child exploitation, and drug trafficking. But we also will put more resources into ferreting out and prosecuting human trafficking, cybersecurity, public corruption, and enforcing federal civil rights laws. In this way we will make Iowa safer by protecting those most in need of our help - the children, the elderly, and those who cannot speak out or stand up for themselves.

Finally, we will continue to strengthen our partnerships with the community and our criminal justice partners to prevent crime, not just fight it. The days are over when it was enough just to be tough on crime. We need to be smart on crime as well. Targeted smart enforcement strengthens trust. We will lead the way in working with the business community and social service providers to enhance community re-entry programs that lower recidivism rates so offenders can successfully rejoin the community after incarceration.

All of us at the United States Attorney's Office join together in wishing you a better and a safer Iowa - an Iowa in which you will be free to realize your own talents and fulfill your own destiny.

' Kevin W. Techau is U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa. More information: www.justice.gov/usao/district/ndia