THE DALLES — The Wasco County District Attorney’s Office announced a partnership with the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) "to enhance efforts in combating drug crime within the community," according to an Aug. 13 media release from the office of Wasco County District Attorney Kara Davis. "This collaboration will leverage the Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) program, a key initiative designed to strengthen federal and local law enforcement efforts."
Davis said the SAUSA program allows the USDOJ to cross-deputize local deputy district attorneys as Special Assistant United States Attorneys. This arrangement provides local agencies with a wider array of options for charging, sentencing, and holding defendants pretrial, as the deputized attorney can also practice in federal court.
"This partnership is an integral component of the USDOJ’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide program launched in 2001," said the media release. "Project Safe Neighborhoods aims to combine federal and local resources to effectively fight violent crime. The SAUSA program is crucial to this project, enabling local prosecutors, who possess invaluable knowledge of their communities, to maintain local control while harnessing the power and authority of the federal government."
An attorney from the Wasco County District Attorney’s Office will serve as a Special Assistant United States Attorney and will also extend their expertise to work collaboratively with the Hood River County District Attorney’s Office on any eligible cases.
“This is a great resource for us to have,” said Davis. “I am very proud of my staff for stepping up to fill this role and I believe this will be a very successful partnership.”
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