Bethany Harrison
Lynchburg's Commonwealth's Attorney
The Commonwealth’s Attorney is the chief prosecutor in the City of Lynchburg. She assumes many roles when it comes to seeking justice and keeping our city safe. Foremost is prosecuting criminals and seeing that they are justly punished.
The role of Commonwealth’s Attorney presents unique challenges in the city when compared with the surrounding counties. In addition to different demographic and socioeconomic makeups, the character of the city is considerably different than the character of our more rural sister counties.
According to the 2010 census, the City of Lynchburg has 1,538 citizens per square mile. Bedford County, for example, has 91 citizens per square mile. The Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney office has 12 prosecutors and 31 total employees who work together day in and day out to keep our City safe. When compared to Bedford (6 prosecutors and 14 total employees) and Amherst (4 prosecutors and 7 total employees), Lynchburg is by far the biggest office in our area.
Given these facts, the Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney must possess the experience and leadership required to tackle these unique challenges and keep the city safe.
As your Commonwealth’s Attorney, I have encountered first hand the issues facing this community, and helped lead the other attorneys in this office in confronting the challenges head-on.
THE IMPORTANT ISSUES
1. Community Relationships
I have always believed that good relationships and partnerships with other governmental entities and non-profit organizations are essential to protecting the citizens of Lynchburg. Without support from partnerships forged within the community, a prosecutor cannot do her job. Click the link to find out more about how the relationships I have formed with our community help us work to keep our city safe.
2. Crime Prevention
The first tool of crime prevention in the hands of the prosecutor is the jail cell. The violent and dangerous criminals must be aggressively prosecuted and taken off the streets. But for some offenders, incarceration is not the only method of crime prevention a Commonwealth’s Attorney must consider.
3. Ending The Cycle Of Violence
Intimate partner violence is an issue that touches every corner of our community. Nationally 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experience some form of physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. The impacts of intimate partner violence are far-reaching. This violence leads to an increase in drug and alcohol addiction which in turn can lead to more crime. I have prosecuted hundreds of cases involving intimate partner violence. My office makes dealing with this issue a priority.
4. Ending The Cycle of Addiction
The scourge of drug and alcohol addiction impacts all of our citizens. People of every race, gender and socio-economic background succumb to drug and alcohol addiction. This unfortunately can often lead otherwise good and decent people to commit crimes. Studies show around 80% of criminal offenders abuse drugs or alcohol. We are all aware of the particular plague of opiate addiction in our community and in our nation. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office must be prepared to address the problem of drug and alcohol addiction.