Oklahoma City - Attorney General Eric Holder recognized 278 Justice Department employees, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley L. Altshuler from the Western District of Oklahoma, with Attorney General Awards at a ceremony this morning in Washington DC. These annual awards recognize department employees and other individuals for their dedication in carrying out the mission of the Department of Justice.
"With this important event, we come together to honor some of our nation's most distinguished, dedicated, and deserving public servants," said Attorney General Holder. "The hard work and impressive achievements of these 278 award recipients have inspired their colleagues at every level of the U.S. Department of Justice - including me. Their leadership has been indispensable in defining the past year as one of historic accomplishment in the face of nearly unprecedented challenge."
"We are delighted that the Attorney General has recognized the dedicated work of AUSA Altshuler in the implementation of our Probationer and Parolee Reentry Program," said Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. "We are extremely proud of our reentry efforts which are specifically designed to help offenders avoid recidivism and become productive members of society."
AUSA Altshuler received an Attorney General's Award for Contribution by a New Employee for his exceptional performance in support of the DOJ Project Safe Neighborhoods, Project Sentry and Offender Reentry Initiatives. Since he was hired, AUSA Altshuler has exceptionally performed his duties in support of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, Project Sentry and offender reentry initiatives. He has taken the initiative to make reentry a priority and led these efforts in the U.S. Attorney’s Office through the creation and development of the Probationer and Parolee Reentry Program (PPREP).
The PPREP program is designed to serve three purposes: (1) To inform recently released state parolees and probationers about the coordinated effort between federal, state, and local authorities to prosecute gun offenders to the fullest extent of the law; (2) to educate them about the legal consequences of gun and drug crimes; and (3) to inspire them to seek reentry social services to better their lives and lessen the chances of recidivism. The PPREP program is a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, ATF, DEA, FBI, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Oklahoma Department of Corrections Probation and Parole, Oklahoma City Police Department, Edmond Police Department, Midwest City Police Department, and other non-governmental entities. In addition, AUSA Altshuler has established a research partnership with a local university to study the effectiveness of the reentry program.
The inaugural PREP session was held on March 24, 2011, which targeted 100 offenders. Since that date, over two dozen P-PREP programs have been held hosting approximately 3000 state probationers and parolees.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
