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DeLuca

Salavantis

Luzerne County District Attorney hopeful Vito DeLuca has released a plan to fight crime in the county’s hardest-hit areas.

DeLuca’s plan, according to a news release sent Wednesday to the Times Leader, would involve identifying the county’s areas of highest crime and assigning detectives and assistant district attorneys to those areas to implement “progressive measures” to reduce crime.

“The ADA’s and detectives would be accountable to me to effect a reduction in crime based on measurable goals,” the Franklin Township Democrat says in the release. “Failure would not be an option.”

The release cites five measures:

• Use of the civil forfeiture act to take properties from landlords who permit criminal activity on their properties.

• Working with schools to curb truancy.

• Working with local government officials to enforce nuisance ordinances.

• Hiring a certified public accountant as a county detective to “properly prosecute” white collar crime.

• Requiring counseling in domestic abuse cases when a party decides not to testify instead of dismissing them.

It also cites a “three-pronged community approach” to fighting crime:

• “Aggressively” prosecuting and jailing violent offenders.

• Keeping non-violent offenders from becoming violent offenders.

• Preventing “law-abiding citizens from becoming offenders.”

An attempt to reach District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis for comment Wednesday was unsuccessful.

DeLuca also could not be reached for further comment.