“COVID-19 hit us like a ton of bricks,” Berks County District Attorney John Adams wrote in the most recent issue of The Response magazine.
Adams recounted how the county’s entire criminal justice system was forced to “pivot hard and fast” last March when trials and in-person hearings were canceled, and the prison population had to be reduced due pandemic-related to safety concerns. Fortunately, in less than two months virtual technology allowed the justice system to operate proficiently. But Adams still had concerns.
“Those of us who work in the criminal justice system and the drug and alcohol treatment field had great concern during this crisis about the opioid epidemic,”
Adams wrote. Again, virtual technology was put in place so that DUI and Drug Treatment Courts could connect with clients and help people battling addiction.
“I am grateful for the collaboration and teamwork that allowed Berks County to quickly adapt. Not even a global pandemic could stop our mission to obtain justice,” Adams concluded.