Since being appointed as Maricopa County Attorney 10 months ago, Allister Adel has brought a whirlwind of changes to the office to increase transparency, emphasize treatment over punishment, and reach out to groups like the business community, all with the economy in mind.  

“If we have a safe community, we have a good economy,” said Adel, the first woman to hold the position since the first county attorney, , took office in 1912 to tame the Old West. 

Adel spoke Tuesday during the kickoff of the Arizona �鶹��ýӳ�� of Commerce and Industry’s new Leadership Series. The virtual event was presented by the law firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie. 

She talked about the office’s many “firsts” including new prosecution integrity protocols, a new data dashboard for public viewing, expansion of treatment diversion programs, reduction of administrative red tape, and more.  

Handling high profile cases with ease  

Adel started her as a prosecutor in the County Attorney’s office where she spent seven years before taking on administrative positions in state government. Her public service prepared her well for her new role in the spotlight.

Among the cases garnering national attention under her leadership was a break in a heart wrenching cold case last week. Almost two decades after 17-year-old Alissa Turney disappeared, Phoenix police arrested her stepfather, Michael Turney, for her murder. 

Earlier this year, Adel also fired famous prosecutor Juan Martinez, who spent his career putting some of the most notorious murderers behind bars. But decades of allegations of sexual harassment by employees in the office came to an end under her leadership.  

Behind the scenes, Adel has instituted a flurry of new programs including:

New felony diversion program provides alternative to prosecution

With an emphasis on “treatment first,” a new Felony Diversion Program has expanded options for people charged with crimes like drug offenses to receive treatment in place of prosecution.

With a focus on treatment versus incarceration, offenders can continue to work, care for their families and go to school. That takes some of the burden off taxpayers and the justice system, Adel said.

“When I took office October 3, we were really looking at treating the offender and not the offense, and by that I mean people who are committing crimes — whether it is organized retail theft, whether its drug possession — because they have underlying issues of mental health or addiction,” Adel said. 

In the midst of the pandemic, more than 1,300 individuals facing criminal prosecution have been referred to the program. This new program combines what was formerly known as the Drug Diversion Program and Felony Pre-Trial Intervention Program to offer a more “robust” treatment option that addresses underlying behaviors and attitudes that affect criminal behavior, Adel said.

Eliminated diversion case fees 

Prior to the pandemic, Adel directed staff to eliminate diversion case fees that ranged from $630 to $1,200. The fees acted as a deterrent to diversion treatment programs  because many defendants could not afford them, she said. 

Home detention now option for misdemeanor DUI 

In its quest to reduce over-incarceration, the office announced on Tuesday that, for the first time in the history of the county, when someone is convicted of misdemeanor DUI, home detention will now be a sentencing option for a portion of the offender’s mandatory jail sentence. Home detention reduces and helps avoid collateral consequences associated with incarceration, such as disruption in employment, schooling, and family stability, Adel said.

New data dashboard 

Last month, the office launched a new data dashboard on its website to provide more transparency and data tracking. The new dashboard at contains information about how cases are handled.

New prosecution policies and plea procedures 

With 90 percent of criminal charges ending in plea agreements, county prosecutors now have new policies to guide how to handle these cases, and for the first time in the history of the office, the new plea policies are for the public.

New prosecution integrity program 

Adel announced the creation of a centralized process within the office to handle claims of actual innocence, potential inappropriate police conduct including alleged excessive use of force, and other claims of prosecutorial unfairness in handling cases. 

The new Prosecution Integrity Program works with defense organizations and prosecutors to review and address items of integrity and conduct.

Advisory Councils 

Adel also is reaching out to the community and businesses for input with two advisory councils, the and the .  

“Public safety is critical to ensuring a stable and growing economy for our community. Understanding the concerns of business leaders provides a perspective that is important to my decision-making process. Not only are businesses often victims of crime, they employ members of the community who may have interactions with our criminal justice system,” she said. 

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Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona �鶹��ýӳ�� of Commerce & Industry, has been named to serve on a national steering committee for a U.S. �鶹��ýӳ�� of Commerce initiative to improve economic equity and opportunity for people of color. 

The goal is to engage hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses, chambers and trade associations to help make it happen. 

With Minneapolis police officers now charged with the murder of George Floyd, America needs to use this as the turning point, he said. 

“We all have much to learn from the senseless killing of George Floyd and this moment in the nation’s history—I know I do,” Hamer said. “I welcome this appointment as someone who doesn’t have all the answers, but who has a real desire to ensure that all Americans have access to an even playing field and a future defined by hope and opportunity.”

The U.S. �鶹��ýӳ�� unveiled the last week in the midst of national outrage as a video went viral showing Floyd’s murder at the hands of four police officers on Memorial Day.

Call to the business community to take action 

The goal of the initiative is to engage hundreds, if not thousands, of chambers, trade associations and companies to participate and improve racial equity in their communities, Hamer said. 

He said, as a Jewish ‘kid’ from the Bronx, he was honored and humbled to be chosen for the committee. 

“The opportunities offered by this country should be open and available to all Americans, not just some,” he said.

Employment rates tell the story 

As part of the effort, the U.S. �鶹��ýӳ��, representing more than 3 million businesses, will also promote policy at all levels of government to help effect change. 

The initiative will focus on four areas: education, employment, entrepreneurship, and criminal justice reform. 

The numbers show the need for a renewed effort, said Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. �鶹��ýӳ�� in a statement announcing the initiative last week. 

The unemployment rate is historically about twice as high for black Americans as for white.

“The combined impacts of the pandemic and economic crises have disproportionately hit disadvantaged communities, making this problem worse,” Clark said. “The chamber believes that the moral case for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace is indisputable, and there’s overwhelming evidence that greater diversity benefits the American economy, businesses, communities and employees.”

Other programs to improve racial opportunity

The national initiative builds on other programs that U.S. �鶹��ýӳ�� has initiated or supports including:

-The U.S. �鶹��ýӳ�� Foundation’s that works to move students of color into high demand careers. 

-Partnering with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation on the that emphasizes the positive economic aspects of racial justice and higher employment,  like meaningful increases in consumer spending; federal, state, and local tax revenues; and decreases in social services spending and health-related costs.

-The , a collaboration with black colleges and universities to develop diverse business leaders by exposing students to new career opportunities and entrepreneurship, and encourage knowledge sharing among academics, business leaders, and trade associations.

Steering committee members from different industries, regions

In Hamer’s appointment to the steering committee, he joins five other business and chamber executives from different industries and geographies: 

-John Harmon, founder, president, and CEO of the African American �鶹��ýӳ�� of Commerce of New Jersey

-Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers

-Vincent B. Orange, Sr., president and CEO of the DC �鶹��ýӳ�� of Commerce

-Carlos Phillips, president and CEO of the Greenville (South Carolina) �鶹��ýӳ�� of Commerce

-Matt Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation

Hamer also chairs the U.S. �鶹��ýӳ��’s Commerce Committee of 100, a group of chamber executives that represent the perspectives and needs of chambers and their members to the national body.

As the president of the Arizona �鶹��ýӳ��, Hamer has taken an international role in promoting Arizona to have strong relationships with trade and intellectual partner countries like Canada, China, Israel, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. 

For more information about the Arizona �鶹��ýӳ��, go to: .For more information about the U.S. �鶹��ýӳ��, go to: .

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We have to come up with sensible solutions that build bridges within the communities that are overlooked, underrepresented and overpoliced. — Dr. Warren Stewart, Sr., Pastor of the First Institutional Church of Phoenix 

As outrage roils across the nation in the wake of the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, Arizona’s civil rights leaders are working overtime to help communities heal and move forward.

“We have to come up with sensible solutions that build bridges within the communities that are overlooked, underrepresented and overpoliced,” said Dr. Warren Stewart, Sr., a civil rights leader, author, and the senior pastor for the oldest African American Baptist church in Phoenix, the First Institutional Baptist .  

Continuous dialogue is vital right now, said another black community and business leader and philanthropist, Alan “AP” Powell, who founded a program that brings police and communities together to bridge that divide.  

“We have to have honest conversations on how we defuse these situations,” Powell said. “More dialog, more conversations build a better bond because there is a gap between police and community because the police see things one way and the community sees it another way.

“But one thing is for sure, we have to live in these same communities together, like it or not.” 

Role models for uniting America 

Stewart and Powell spoke to �鶹��ýӳ�� this week about what is needed to galvanize the nation right now. 

Pastor Stewart’s work goes back four decades in Arizona. He led a years-long long struggle to get the Martin Luther King, Jr., state holiday reinstated in 1992 after it was cancelled by former governor, Evan Mecham. At the time, Mecham made national headlines for using racially insensitive terms and making incendiary statements

Cancelling the holiday cost the state dearly. The NFL decided to withdraw the Super Bowl. Countless conventions cancelled. Estimates put the loss to the state between $200 million to $250 million in revenue.

Through HeroZona, Powell, a former Army veteran, founded other support programs including the Bridge Forum in Phoenix, whose mission is to bridge the communication gap between police and communities of color to prevent violence.  

Powell’s Phoenix company, AP & Associates, LLC, specializes in strategic alliances and channel development for Fortune 500 companies. He advises firms on multicultural content and leveraging brand connections with multicultural audiences.

First step: America must face reality  

Both leaders spoke about ways to move ahead in the wake of protests, violence and looting following Floyd’s death.   

First, all generations of Americans must realize and acknowledge that systemic racism has been “a cancer” against people of color for centuries, Stewart said. Floyd is but one fatality in a long line of unarmed blacks killed by police. But this attack was the most disturbing. 

Stewart said he cried for two days after seeing the video of white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes while other officers watched. 

“The way in which he was killed, pleading to breathe, calling for his deceased mother, and the police officer just kept pressing his neck,” Stewart said. “It touched a nerve — that people of color have been traumatized for centuries. 

“When we saw that level of inhumanity to a man who had his hands behind his back, handcuffed and on his stomach and they would not let him breathe… That’s all he asked. He didn’t ask to be unhandcuffed. He said, I want to breathe.”

After the killing, Stewart and about 100 other religious and faith leaders who are members of the 

African American Christian Clergy Coalition held a press conference in Phoenix to denounce the killing, denounce violent protestors and looters, and call for action.  

Police need to be responsive, not reactive

Sensible solutions can work, Stewart said.

He commended Phoenix police chief, Jeri Williams, one of just a few black female chiefs in the country, for working proactively to train officers to respond – not react – to potentially explosive situations. 

He credited her influence for another incident filmed during the recent protests in Phoenix when someone broke the back window of a police vehicle with officers inside. The officers were able to defuse the situation in a non-violent manner, Stewart said. 

“They did not get out with their guns drawn, they got out of the vehicle and said, “Hey, what’s going on?” 

Bridge Forum opens dialogue between police and residents 

The Bridge Forum in Arizona is another model for growing systemic changes. The forum was  started five years ago by the Black �鶹��ýӳ�� of Arizona and Powell’s nonprofit Checkered Flag Run Foundation, now known as HeroZona.

A panel of police chiefs participate in a dedicated to “connecting community engagement with police professionalism.” The goal is to bridge differences. �鶹��ýӳ�� include media relations, multicultural awareness, conflict management, crisis management, community engagement, and community relations.

“Anybody can have a town hall or meeting but you have to have more, you have to have execution and follow up, and leadership having these conversations,” Powell said. 

Police and citizens can’t do it alone, he said. There must be guidance and action from policy and law makers, too. 

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