Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced on April 17 her office has launched a new program to dispatch investigators and prosecutors to industrial incidents involving occupational deaths and environmental threats.
The OSHA and Environmental Crimes Rollout Program will direct District Attorney staff to the sites of the most serious industrial incidents immediately after they are reported to enhance the preservation of evidence and ensure that witness accounts are documented.
“This program is designed to protect the health and safety of all Los Angeles County residents – wherever they may live, work and play,” Lacey stated. “We will help law enforcement and regulatory agencies more thoroughly investigate these incidents so that criminal acts are discovered and vigorously prosecuted. In Los Angeles County, we will not tolerate companies that put their employees and the public at risk.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is working closely with law enforcement and fire agencies on a notification system. First-responders are being asked to alert the District Attorney’s Office when they are called out to locations involving workplace deaths or where victims have suffered life-threatening injuries potentially caused by violations of workplace safety rules.
District Attorney staff also will be dispatched to environmental incidents that threaten serious harm to the environment, wildlife, or public safety.
Lacey has signed agreements with dozens of local agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Dept., the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept., Long Beach Police Dept., and the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.
Through the new program, District Attorney investigators and prosecutors will be deployed immediately to the most serious incidents to assist with investigations led by the California Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and other law enforcement agencies.
Once on the scene, District Attorney staff will help assess the incident and identify and interview witnesses.
At a morning news conference, Lacey issued a warning to businesses that willfully violate workplace safety and environmental laws and regulations.
“My office is fully committed to the rigorous enforcement of these laws and regulations,” Lacey stated. “Businesses that do not ensure worker and community safety will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
In the coming months, the District Attorney’s Criminal Justice Institute also will provide training to law enforcement personnel on how to investigate occupational deaths and significant environmental incidents.
