PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s chief federal prosecutor has appointed an executive for community engagement, a newly created position that marks a shift in the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s violence-prevention strategy.
Ebony Wortham, who served for 15 years as an assistant district attorney, will be the new executive U.S. attorney for community engagement. U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said she sees the position as critical to helping prevent violent crime.
“We will find opportunities to be out there to do anti-violence community outreach and education, so people understand the consequences of committing those kinds of crimes in those neighborhoods,” Romero said.
Romero said she hopes the job will help the U.S. Attorney’s Office establish a presence in the communities it serves that is more consistent, familiar and trusted.
“This is someone who will be going out in the community and identifying areas where we can be more active — very strategic community outreach in the areas of the community that most need it.”
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In announcing Wortham’s selection, Romero praised her experience and acumen as a former prosecutor, law enforcement partner and community advocate. Wortham is a lifelong Philadelphian — a graduate of Central High School and Temple University, with graduate degrees from Widener University and University of Pennsylvania.
Romero’s predecessor, Bill McSwain, took a hard-line, tough-on-crime approach that often pitted him against District Attorney Larry Krasner. Romero says she can’t speak to McSwain’s approach, but she intends to prosecute violent crime that is part of larger criminal enterprises and that she has a positive relationship with Krasner.