Opening : Mon-Fri 08:00 – 17:00
Northwestern District Attorney's Office
Our Mission
Since 1975, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office has been dedicated not only to the pursuit of justice and public safety, but also to the support of victims and their families, and outreach and education about the criminal justice system.
- Core ethical principles of fairness and transparency guide the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office as it carries out its mission. By practicing proactive prosecution, the office works to keep residents of Massachusetts’ northwest counties safe from criminal conduct.
- The targeted service that the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office provides includes vigorously prosecuting criminal offenses throughout Hampshire and Franklin counties, and the city of North Adams in Berkshire County. The office also, at its core, promotes the concept of community collectively caring for and protecting itself.
- To this end, the office assists victims of crime and witnesses, and prosecutes offenders to achieve justice and uphold public safety. The office also provides help to individuals struggling with addiction and its related consequences, including overdose deaths. It does so by breaking the cycle of lack of treatment, drug-related crime/misdemeanor offenses, and recidivism.
Meet Our District Attorney
Introducing District Attorney Jessica Landon: A Fresh Perspective with 15 Plus Years of Experience
With over 15 years of prosecutorial experience, and a strong commitment to ethical standards, District Attorney Jessica Landon has a vision for the office that includes innovative community programs and restorative practices, as well as the traditional elements of justice throughout her tenure as DA. District Attorney Landon is committed to serving the citizens of the Northwestern District through available resources that attend to the needs of every citizen.
Jessica Landon – Proven Leader In Growing a Fair and Just Legal System in Northwestern District. She envisions a fair, just, and most efficient legal system to be in place in the Northwestern District. To this end, she seeks to facilitate community involvement in programs that foster relationships with law enforcement and the local prosecutors.
Jessica Landon also seeks to promote Fair and Impartial Justice in every corner of the Northwestern District. She knows that our communities deserve a fair trial, and thus trains her prosecutors so that they are ready for any case. Moreover, she supports an open-door policy with law enforcement agencies while also encouraging department liaisons, as well as her prosecutors to use best practices.
Services We Offer
Committed to protecting the rule of law, maintaining public safety and providing justice in every case we handle, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office offers a wide range of services designed to strengthen our community, promote awareness of legal issues and provide support to victims of crimes. These services include prosecution of misdemeanors; prosecution of felonies; juvenile justice services; victim support and advocacy; victim services outreach; public education regarding the rights of victims and legal news; and youth mentorship.
- ✓ Criminal prosecutions for misdemeanors and felonies in Franklin, Hampshire and Berkshire Counties
- ✓ Juvenile justice services focused on rehabilitation and support for minors
- ✓ Victim advocacy, support, and outreach including legal rights education
- ✓ Community outreach initiatives and public education programs
- ✓ Youth mentorship and legal workshops for community awareness
Community Engagement
At the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, we are in the business of keeping people safe, but to accomplish that goal, we must first earn and maintain the trust of the community. We achieve this by making sure people know we are present, available, and qualified to help them. Our numbers validate the fact that when we engage with the public, respond to requests and be where we are expected to be in the community, we are trusted. Our office has been focused on building trust and engagement since 1975, and to date we have:
- We engage the community in many ways. For example, each year we coordinate events around National Night Out, a nationwide effort to reduce crime through police-community interactions.
- As part of the initiative, we partner with public safety officials from the Five Colleges to host National Night Out events at the University of Massachusetts and Francis P. Broderick, Sr. Park in Hadley.
- These events give people a chance to connect with law enforcement in a relaxed, fun environment, and the greeting cards we hand out at our events are created from original artwork by local school students.
- A team of assistant district attorneys and law enforcement personnel also works from our Northampton office to help people find what they need through community-based organizations.
- If you feel your neighborhood could benefit from more public engagement, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office is available to host a number of programs and workshops over food. These include: free workshops that deal with criminal charges, victims’ rights, juvenile justice, money involvement in criminal enterprises or being a witness, among others.
- We have documented good responses to workshops such as “Ten Tips that Could Save You Money and Make You a Better Employee” and “How to Stay Safe in an Increasingly Dangerous World.”
- The office’s Youth Leadership Program has helped countless parents and schools see delinquent behaviors and negative life choices preventable and treatable through formal mentorship programs.
- Our office is here to help your family stay safe and to provide needed services, free of charge. But as with all good things, we need feedback from you. If you have a good idea on how to bring our services – professional, financial, legal, etc.—closer to home, let us know. By working together and staying connected, we can keep each other safe.
Educational Resources
The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office provides educational resources for the residents of Northwestern Massachusetts. These resources help you understand your rights and the justice process, with articles and workshops available to the public free of charge.
- ✓ Legal Articles – Online legal articles are a valuable resource for our citizens. Whether it be researching someone’s legal rights and regulations or keeping citizens updated on the most recent and trending legal news and changes, this is a valuable resource for our citizens.
- ✓ Workshops – The Northwestern district lawyer office uses workshops as a forum for people to share their experiences. A team of experienced counselors will capably address disputes. This is an example of sharing information through local workshops.
- ✓ Guides – Guides are available to help educate and support the advancement of knowledge throughout the community, including information on prevention and community awareness.
- ✓ Information & Resource – This section helps prevent legal issues from turning into legal problems including funding sources, and related organizations.
Get Involved: Your Role in Building a Safer Community
It’s not enough that the members of the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office are dedicated to making our region a safer, better place to live, work, and raise families. We want our residents to feel empowered, as well. In fact, we encourage it.
- Your role in building a positive environment starts with owning your own neighborhood—becoming acquainted with who your neighbors are, what their needs are, how you can support them, and where you can refer people to get help, when needed.
- It can take a lot of effort to find trusted, reliable neighborhood resources. However, we are committed to making things easier by publicizing useful information about local services and volunteers on our social media pages. Follow us on Facebook (@NWDAsOfficeLeague) in addition to local social media pages—for almost every town and community in the Northwestern District, there’s a police department page, a board of health page, a facebook page for the council on aging, among others.
- We also publicize regular events on our Facebook and Twitter pages to which community members are invited to attend, such as drug awareness seminars in schools in Greenfield, Athol, and Orange, support group meetings for individuals afflicted with mental illness in Greenfield and Palmer, quarterly medical marijuana dispensary roundtable events, veterans resource fairs, and even drug take-back events.