b'Washington County Attorneys Office2019 Annual Report CriminalDivision We serve victims, we keep our communities safe, and we protect our individual freedoms. Criminal Division ChiefSiv YurichukThe Criminal Division is led by Siv Yurichuk, Criminal Chief, and Imran Ali, Assistant Criminal Chief.There are ten (10) assistant county attorneys that are responsible for the prosecution of all felony leveloffensesthatoccurinWashingtonCounty,aselectnumberofgrossmisdemeanors,andall misdemeanor level offenses committed in those townships/cities without city attorneys.In addition to prosecution, the criminal division is responsible for handling all appeals in which the office is involved, whether civil or criminal. Our seasoned appellate attorney is committed to handling all such appeals. Our division is responsible for prosecuting a range of offenses from low level shoplifting to the most seriousoffensesofsexualassaultandhomicide.Eachoneofourprosecutorsisexperienced, knowledgeable, and dedicated to protecting the citizens of Washington County. The attorneys are often involved in cases in the early stages of investigation allowing the attorneys and police departments to workcollaborativelytobuildstrongcasesfromtheonset.ManyofourattorneyssitonMulti-Disciplinary teams that tackle issues such as Vulnerable Adult Abuse and Exploitation as well as Sex Trafficking.TheMDTsallowrepresentativesfromcommunityservices,localbusinesses,police agencies, and other service providers to work together to gather evidence to build chargeable cases and to provide services to victims in need. The County Attorney recognizes that a majority of criminal behavior is a direct result of substance abuse.In response to this and the current opioid crisis our country andour county is faced with, our office, and particularly the criminal division, spearheaded a joint initiative with the Sheriffs Office to tackle the increased opioid abuse and overdose deaths in Washington County.The initiative seeks to createacomprehensiveprogramthatwilladdresssubstanceabusefromallangles-including, implementing medically assisted treatment (MAT) in our jail, providing continuing care for inmates released from our jail, setting up an on demand treatment to help addicts get the treatment they need when they need it without having to deal with the complexities of funding and bed space, outreach to at-risk populations, and prevention education/awareness and training.6'