g morning. this is "news 4 your sunday". >> hello. i'm pat lawsonmuse. she is a former maryland lawmaker, attorney, and now the second woman to become prince george's county top law enforcement officer. joining usoday is state's attorney aisha braidboy. you've been doing the job a little more than two months. i kno you were swo in at the beginning of january. you said winning this seat was the greatest accomplishment of your professional career. how is it going s far? >> so far it's going i hit the ground running. we had some big cases. just a couple weead ago we a sentencing in the michael ford case and that was the case of a young mt who s up the police station with his two brothers.

we secured a 195 year sentence against mr. ford and 12 and 20 ar sentences against his brothers for their participation in that crime. for the past 15 years, you have worked withty the commu public awareness council in prince george's county, a nprofit that you started. part of your missiono was steer juveniles away from the criminal justice system. do you plan to continue tt work? >> absolutely. as state's attorney, i have a greater opportunity to look at ses that we can divert into programs to help youth as opposed to just incarcerating them. we're tryin to move away from incarceration, trying to end the prison pipeline that has occurred in so many of our neighborhoods of color and really give these young people to have a quality life and be productive members of our t'society. >> w is going to be like to go from your work that primarily was focused on rehab titating

th prosecuting them? >> well, the truth is some individuals need to be prosecuted and i'm not afraid to do so and i have greatoffice, a great staff of attorneys who are there to ensurehe that public is safe. but the reality is most of ouri are not violent crimes, so we do have an opportunity to have meaningful rehabilitation r those who deserve it. >> you are, w for tho not familiar, a prince george's native. you went to largo high school, graduated from the university of maryland, howard university law school. you're now running the office of state's attorney. what will be your priorities? >> juvenile justice reform is extremely important to me, but in addition to that, i believe it is so important that our o electedicials operate with integrity. i have created a public integritynit that will prosecute police officers who kve, youw, abused their

powers. we will also prosecute elected officials and appointed officials who abuse their power in office as well. >> you're coming into office at a timehen statistics say the county's homicide rate is trending downward andhe overall crime rate has been cut significantly. what's your strategy for maintaining thattrend? >> absolutely. well, we're going to go after those violent repeat because a lot of times there's a small group of people who are aj committing theity of crimes in our county. we can go after them and keep dem locp and we'll be much safer. in addition to that, we have to realize that weo have a gang problem in prince george's county and we have to more meaningfully intervene with that issue of gangs in our county as well as drug les, because that accounts for a large percentage of our micides, drug sales gone wrong. those are areas that we're going to focus on iofmy ce. >> all right.

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welcome back. we're continuing our talk w prince george's state's attorney aisha braveboy. guns a p a bigblem on the streets of prince george's county. >> absolutely. >> on the sdieets of the rict of columbia. you are concerned not just about getting guns out of the hands of those who are using them to commit crimes. you're interested in getting at the source of th guns. tell us how you're doing that. >> absolutely. we can arrest street level offenders every day, which we do and we prosecute them but the real issue is that guns are coming from somewhere. we don't particularly -- we're not manufacturing guns in o community. those guns are coming from other places. we're focusing also on the sourcef thoseguns. so we're working with our federal partners, the u.s. to ey's office, atf, and our

gun intelligence ut at the prince george's county police department to really go after dhe source of those guns so that they can be h accountable as well. >> and then working with the police department is also important. the buyback programs. you have some churches that sponsor these buyback programs. do they really net much? >> they do. they're effective, but we continue to guns proliferating on oureets and those guns a lot of times are coming from out of statt. we wo make sure our federal partners are prosecutingin and ho those individuals accountable as well. >> when you're talking about fighting crime, some of the most vulnerable citizens in our community are senior citizens. >> absolutely. >> for victims of crime, violent crime as well as financial crime. your office is reaching out to them and keeping them in mind and you have some initiatives that you want to focus on to help in thatarea. >> absolutely. we want to arm our seniors information as well as individuals who are a part of

our disability community, because they are oen targeted by scam artists and others who really want to prey upon them because they believe thate they vulnerable. under my leadership, they are not vulnerable. they are important members of our community who i will fight to defendnd so we're letting them know that we're reaching what theing them know recent scams are, how to protecd themselvesho to call if they believe they're victim. >> how are you reaching out to them?ng are you goi to senior citizens? >> we're going directly to their facilities, to church, anywhere we believe wean capture our seniors, we're going dreirectlyo them. they need to hear the i've been also invited to a number of forums with people who have disabilities, blind individuals who are hearing impaired and others. i'g reach out to every sector of our community to ensure that they knowt we care about them. >> is there a special office or

department in the state's e attorney's offhere seniors or those who are experiencing disabilities or who have disabities can reach out directly? is there a specific office? >> our office of community affairs is the point of contact for ourun coy. they will triage those calls and get it to the right unit. so we want people just to call in to the office, call in to one unit so that they're not,ou know, being given to this person or that person. we want our seniors and individuals with disabilities to have one point of contact. that's our community affairs office. they'll ensure that they get connected to the right people depending on their issue. >> do you feel it's veryan impo to maintain strong ties to the community? in fact, you're sponsoring oror nizing an event soon called community in the courthouse. tell us about that. >> this is actually a continuation of something that glen ivy started and now i'm

going to continue, but we're going to reach out to the larger mmunity because we want morey communaders and other stakeholders to come to the courthouse to find out what 're doing in our office and how the system of justice works in our county. we think that's very important. we look forward t inviting them every fourth tuesday starting in february. we invite the community to come out and join us. >> how important doou think it is to build the relationship, strengthen the relationship between people who often see you as foe rather than friend? >> yeah. i mean, i understand that sentiment, but i'm from the commy. i grew up there. i want my community to be safe. i think eryone wants that. they want to be able to go outside and enjoy their neighborhood and everyone deserves tt. so i'm not hyper -- i'm not someone who is going to be

trying to prosecute every single case, especially some of the minor offenses where we believe diversion is the appropriate answer, but bottomerline, ne deserves to live in a safe community. and soo that's important me. i believe it's important to the people who elected's me. thhat i'm going to do. >> okay. i know that you have done some reorganizing i your office and you're evaluating how the office is run. how many prosecutors do you have? >> we have a little over 100 prosecutors in our office. >> prosecutor, aistant prosecutors? > i have two deputies and then i have about around 100 prosecutors in the office and then i have about 100 staff members who are support staff. >> do you ha enough? >> i think that we don't have enough. if you look at our caseload and our prosecutor to case ratio,'r much higher than any jurisdiction in the state ofnd

maryso we're going to work hard to expand and grow our office so that ourrs prosecu have time, really the time it takes to pli together q cases that we can get justice rr our residents. >> allht. we're talking about aisha braveboy. we'll continue right after this. alexa, play weekend mix.

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e continue our discussion with prince george's state's attorney aisha braveboy. former university of maryland student is charged with murder and a hate crime in the fatal stabbing of lieutenant richard collins. the case got a lot of attention. the trial was supposed to start last year. it was delayed. it was supposed to start last month and now it's been delayed again until july. what can you tell us about the edelays and how you preparing for this trial? >> sure. the reason for the current delae is becwo of the attorneys who were working on that case

joined an administration, so they're no longer in the state's attorneys office and i haveot t r prosecutors on that case, my chief of homicide and also my principal deputre going to be prosecuting that case. they are preparing for it. we've met with the family. we've mate witet with the advoc the family. we don't want to get this case wrong. we believe this is a hate crime. we're going to prosecute it as a hate rhyme we want to get justice for the family of lieutenant r >> how about some of the other cases you're focusing on? we know there's been an indictment in the terrible dui crash that claimed t lives of three little children on indian he highway on christmas week. >> just last week my office secured an indictmeninst thomas daniel hawks who lives actually in charl county, maryland. he was traveling along 210 headed home from a redskins

game. he was driving while impaired. he hit the back of a vehicle of the family car and three young children, their entire family, died in one incint. we a seeking justice for their family. we are prosecuti this case very vigorously and we're going to send the message that ifin y and drive in prince george's county we will hold you accountable. >> one of the first thing you did in your office was toeet with every single one of the more than 200 staffn members the state's attorneys office, prosecutes, receptionist, staff members. why was it sta imp for you to do that? >> because these are the people who make this office my receptionist on the front line, they're the ones who gre c theizens who are coming in. they are the one whose answer the phones. i need to understand what their job is, what we can do to make theirob better.

with our paralegals, ourwi vict ess coordinators, these are the people who support our attorneys who are trying to seek justice for ourct s, and so if they can't do their job effectively, tn we're not getting justice effectively for our residents. it was important for to understand what some of the barriers were for them to do eir job effectively and what some of the good things that are going on in the office that we wa to continue. so i wanted to do thaton evalua early in the process so that we could make those changes that we needed to. we've done so. hai think the office is -- that the people in the office e very appreciative of that approach and they have been on board with a lot of thehanges that we've made so far and we're going to make some more. >> the former state's attorney focussed heavily on and called a lot of attention to the issue of domestic violence which is a big issue in prince george's county. what kind of initiatives do you plan to pursue?

>> i'm going to continue that focus ovi domestic ence, but in addition to aggressively prosecuting abusers, we are also going to be focused on the victims and how we ensure that victims become survivors and stay the d courseing the prosecution and even afterwards. we want them to stay away from their abusers, so we have to focus on housing.us g is one of the biggest issues that keep people in abusive situations because they don't feel like they have any other pla. to we don't want housing or job skills to be a barrier. we're working on ensuring our victims are whole and that they are strong and ty can stand up for themselves and take care of themselves and their families. >> do you plan to work with the county executive? >> absolutely. >> on that? >> absolutely. >> we are in lock step on the issue of domestic violence. le>> state tes, state's attorney, what's nexta for ai

braveboy? >> i love this job. this is a very important job. state's attorney i think is probably the most powerful position in t. coun i have to tell you that it's very humbling. it's hbling because your decisions affect other people's lives, whether they're goingom go that day or not, whether they're going to be charged with a crime, what type of crime they're being charged with, n whether victims feel like they have received justice. these are really important issues. they're critical issues that impact our s.communit i can't think right now of any other place i'd rather be. i'm so p grateful for thple of prince george's county for electing me. >> all right. thngks for b with us. all the best to you. >> thank you very much. >> we look forward to talkingo you again. next a way to meet someyof favorite local news anchors and reporters and a way to help get some great research and

fundraising done for breast cancer research. we'll be right back. e eating. oh, hello. at giant, it's the little things that make entertaining easy, leaving more time for those closest to you.

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ten years ago a group of local news ahor women founded something called news bash. it's a breast cancerch ity. this coming wednesday evening, supporters and survivors will w gathh their friends coming together for the evening at pearl street warehouse at the wharf to help raise awareness for breast cancer and to raise funds for this year's beneficiary which is the capital breast carete c joining us is rhonda hamilton who was the patie navigator. thanks so much for being with us. what's the mission of the capital breast care center? >> the mission of the capital breast care center iso provide annual mammograms regardless of pay. ability to our role is very critical as navigators because we ensuom that and men as well are able to have mammogrs. our patients do not need to have insurance to come to us as well,

o mission is critical.ou goal is to pmake sure we increase the rates within the washington, d.c. area. >> you are a patient navigator. what does a navigator do? p aient navigator helps patients to ensure that they are able to maneuver t health care system. often times when you need a mmogram, a large number of women that come to us do not haveealth insurance. it's very difficult to know that you're in need of aamgram and not know how you're going to pay for that mammogram. as navigators, we oreassure patients that it doesn't matter if you have health insurance or i'm here to help you to ensure you that get your mammogram and any diagnostic followup that you may need and if you're diagnosed with cancer any treatment. we're here to help our patients to maneuver through any barriers that they encounter, including any fear or anxiety that are

associated. sometimes there not close to a mammography facility. we provide transportation to re enhat they can get there. we also make sure that if there is an issue like sometimes there are other things that are going on, there are other things that they may be tackling with that may generat a l of stress, we connect them with the support ot servicy're in need of and we ensure that they're able to have those mammograms annually and that if there's anything that hinders them, anything tt hinders them from having them, we're here to help and support them throughfo those s. >> one of the things that hinders a lot of women is they just don't like getting mammograms. what do you say to them? >> well, sometimes tsre fear and anxiety associated with having a mammogram. the e may family history of cancer. sometimes a woman may call and say you know what, inow i need a mammogram, but i'm worried about the process. m very scared.

and a lot of times as a navigator we will talk through their concerns. we will talk through their fears. in some cases, they may feel like iill feel more comfortable if someone is there to go with me, to transport me to the appointme which helps to encourage them. we're able to do that as well. often times i will call my patients and remind them about their appointments, follow-up to see how the appointment went. we're there as a reportor them to help them work through anything that they encounter that may hinder them. >> if they don't have insurance, what do they do? >> if they don't have insurance, we'll me sure that there's a special program that will assist eith covering their mammograms. so what do is we make sure that they're signed up for any program that will help to support them, which includes project wish and other supportive services. are able to pay for their cost so they don't have to worry

any c about at associated with their mammogram. >> so you make sure it happens. >> yes. >> rhonda hamilton, thank you so much. we want the news bash to rai lots of money to continue to support your program. >> we're looking forward to the news bash and y tha so much. we're very excited about it and thank you for all ofsu your ort of the efforts of the capital breast care center. >> rhonda, thank youomuch. you should know that news 4 will be joining the group down at the evening on wednesday along with women and men from other local news stations. you'd like t meet your favorite news personality, we encourage you to get a ticket d go on down. we've put up a link to on the ne ticket purchase site at co nbcwashingto to see any news 4 your sunday program, click o

nbcwashington.com. i'm pat law soson muse. thank you for watching. we'll see you next time. it's not just easy. it's having-a-walrus-in-goal easy! roooaaaar! it's a walrus! ridiculous! yes! nice save, big guy! good job duncan! way to go! [chanting] it's not just easy. it's geico easy. oh, duncan. stay up. no sleepies.

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6:00 on this sunday morning. here's what we're following for you. the governor of virginia says he is not the perso in the controversial year book photo. darkening mit it is his skin at a different college party. we'll break donewn the about bi press conference. >> and the lieutenant governor is not directly calling for northam to step down. and tragedy on the road in prince george's kouptd county, kids are dead after h