USA Hanna and AUSA Ben Barron Speak at the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee (CCJCC)

On Wednesday, February 20, 2019, U.S. Attorney Hanna attended the Los Angeles County, Countywide Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee (CCJCC) meeting. CCJCC’s mission is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the local criminal justice system by strengthening interagency communication, cooperation, and coordination among criminal justice, education, and health and human services agencies. USA Hanna provided an office overview, highlighting current priority areas of focus including human trafficking, heroin and opioid abuse, and violent crime reduction.

On Wednesday, April 17, 2019, AUSA Ben Barron and DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Mike Davis attended the Los Angeles County, Countywide Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee (CCJCC) meeting. Together, they provided a presentation on local initiatives and partnerships to combat the opioid crisis. They were also joined by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department that are assigned to the DEA High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force.

At the April 17th CCJCC meeting, the Committee had an extensive discussion on various initiatives related to combating the opioid epidemic.  While much is already in place, Committee members identified additional opportunities to link various efforts.  The Committee approved a motion to “establish an opioid epidemic ad hoc working group among key stakeholders and members of CCJCC to develop and identify strategies to assist with interagency coordination in the areas of enforcement, prosecution, prevention, and treatment."