These Tarrant County programs for abuse, education won national attention

Luke Ranker
·2 min read

A national league of counties honored the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s office with three awards for programs aimed at tackling abuse as well as building an interest in criminal justice in high school students.

The National Association of Counties gave the District Attorney’s office three achievement awards, which recognize innovative county government programs, the office said in a release Monday. The awards were presented in July.

“I am very proud of the people in my office who created and brought to life these programs,” CDA Sharen Wilson said in the statement. “These programs make a difference in our community.”

Through the “Prosecutors in High School” program hundreds of Fort Worth students at Dunbar, Polytechnic, Diamond Hill-Jarvis, O.D. Wyatt, Eastern Hills and Western Hills high schools participated in a class designed to educate students about the criminal justice system, build trust and let students know about job opportunities. The DA’s office and school district launched the class in 2020.

The program inspired Jamauri Robinson, an Easter Hills graduate, to become a police officer, according to the release. Robinson will pursue an associate’s degree in criminal justice at Navarro Junior College in the fall with plans to later attend the police academy and earn a law degree.

“The sessions taught me about my rights as a citizen, the role of the District Attorney’s office and how they collect and present evidence during a trial. I also learned about the different careers I could pursue in law enforcement,” Robinson said in the statement. “As a result of attending the webinar series, I decided that I want to become a police officer and judge.”

Two other programs focused on streamlining abuse cases.

The DA’s office created a of specialized team of lawyers, investigators and other staff to tackle sexual assault cases. The program streamlined the path from law enforcement investigation to prosecution, according to the DA’s office.

The office also created a new process for evaluating intimate partner violence that involve misdemeanor domestic violence charges. The program focused on upgrading charges by focusing on evidence and reaching out to victims more quickly.

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