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Carmichael Times

DA Schubert Talks Community Challenges at Carmichael Chamber Luncheon

Jul 05, 2018 12:00AM ● By By Rich Peters, MPG Editor

At the Carmichael Chamber of Commerce luncheon, DA Anne Marie Schubert was joined by Sacramento Sheriff Officer Bill Roberts, CHP Officer Brian Lewis and Sacramento Fire Department Officer Christopher Dargan. Photo by Susan Maxwell Skinner

CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) - “How much our community thrives is one hundred percent dependent on the people who are willing to participate in that,” said Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert. “There is no question in my mind that Sacramento has been faced with extraordinary challenges in the last few months and there is no person probably more aware of that than me.”

District Attorney Schubert was June’s Carmichael Chamber luncheon guest speaker, packing the room. Schubert addressed a lot of topics, including the East Area Rapist case, but mostly stuck to what she feels is most important right now – the challenges that face the community.

“My view as the DA, and I say this often, is what I call the blueprint to public safety: prosecution, prevention and innovation,” said Schubert. “We’re going to stand up for victims, we’re going to hold people accountable – if you deserve to go to prison, buddy, you’re going – that’s what I say. But I also believe one hundred percent that if we can prevent crime on the front end, we are far better off on the other end.”

Schubert is a firm believer in education being the answer to lowering the crime rate. “85 percent of our prison population is comprised of individuals that were either chronically truant or absent from school,” she stated. “You cannot expect police and prosecutors to solve the problems that we face in the community alone.”

Other issues that Schubert touched on were homelessness and mental health – especially in the Carmichael area. “Aside from the East Area Rapist, which is probably now the hottest topic, the hottest topic was always two things: ‘What are you going to do about homelessness? What are you going to do about mental health?’”

She touched on the negative affect that the homeless population has on the community’s economy and the complexity of solving that problem. “Public safety, education, healthcare – everything is interrelated,” said Schubert. “If we do not have a vibrant community, if we are not safe as a community, if you have people, transients, using drugs, doing everything on the doorsteps of your business – that’s going to affect your economic vibrancy.”

Schubert continued, “We have seen in Sacramento County and across this country an increase of homelessness of 30 percent (in the last two years). That’s a very significant issue – very challenging, very complex – but it’s not something that police and prosecutors can solve on their own. It takes a community.”

Schubert was raised in Sacramento, went to local schools and is raising her children in the region. She was elected as Sacramento County's District Attorney in 2014. She has 28 years of law enforcement experience, fighting for victims, and putting dangerous career criminal behind bars. As District Attorney and a local prosecutor, Schubert has sent some of the area’s most notorious and dangerous criminals – murderers, rapists and child molesters – to state prison.