CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — On Monday morning, Drew Welsh was sworn in as Clarion County’s new District Attorney.

(Photo courtesy Alexis Rupert.)

Senior Judge James Arner presided over the ceremony.

ExploreClarion.com spoke to Welsh about some of the changes he anticipates in the days ahead.

“A lot of the changes that I foresee for right now, really immediately, are really just internal changes, as far as the way we process things and the procedure for a lot of things,” Welsh explained.

“I want to try and make sure and have more of a set procedure that I want each law enforcement department to follow when it comes to working with the DA’s office. We have some of that already, and it works well, but I always think there’s room for improvement on that end.”

Welsh noted he would also like to work on communication with the public.

“What I found going around campaigning, which was a blind spot for me until I did that, was I think there’s a lot of the public who doesn’t really necessarily know everything the district attorney’s office does and what their role is. So, I’d like to look at having opportunities and events to have people come and ask questions about the position, not so much about specific cases, but more of what the general role is, and to try and update the community about what’s going on in the district attorney’s office.”

According to Welsh, he’s also hoping to improve on how child abuse cases are currently handled, particularly with the increase in cases the county has seen in recent years.

“The greater number we’re seeing — a lot of that has stemmed from the fact that after the Jerry Sandusky case. There were changes made as far as reporting requirements and things like that. So, after that, we really saw a large spike and influx in the numbers of cases that we were seeing. Ultimately, those were cases that were always happening, but they just weren’t getting reported to the same degree they are now.”

Welsh noted they have since created a multi-disciplinary team that brings together people from Children and Youth Services, law enforcement, and the district attorney’s office, and allows them to better coordinate their investigations.

“I found that to be helpful and to be a proactive way to make sure everyone has all of the information, but I’d like to step that up a little bit more, again going on kind of the procedures route.”

Welsh plans to create more formal procedural guidelines for child abuse cases.

“I want to be more proactive with making sure everyone has an easy resource, so even if they’re a law enforcement officer on their first week on the job, and they get a child abuse case, they can go to their set of procedures and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.”

Welsh noted that the multi-disciplinary team for child abuse cases is working so well, he would like to implement a similar team for elder abuse cases.

“We had started, a few years ago, looking at having a similar team for elder abuse. I think that just kind of didn’t all connect at that time. I want to talk to the Area Agency on Aging about that again.”

One big change that Welsh is anticipating is the move from their current office space, on the corner of Liberty Street and Sixth Avenue, to their new office space located next door at 514 Liberty Street (adjacent to the Clarion Borough Municipal Parking Lot).

“I’m going to be excited when it’s ready. It’s going to be really nice space.”

The new building is still being renovated, but they hope to be finished in the next month or so and be able to move into the new space sometime in February, according to Welsh.

“I have to give them credit on how hard they’re working on it to get everything up and going and ready.”

One of the advantages of the new building will be a set space devoted to the operation of CNET (Clarion County Narcotics Enforcement Team).

“It really helps to have a dedicated area where they’re going to be able to function and work.”

Welsh has more ideas for the future that he’s not quite ready to share yet.

“I have some more ideas, but I want to be able to sit down with the team as it comes together, with Erich Spessard coming on as assistant district attorney. I want to be able to make sure I brainstorm with him and then put all that together and put it out there for the public.”