Accomplishments

Lorrin Freeman is proud to be the first and only woman to serve as Wake County District Attorney. Over the last seven years she has championed new initiatives to ensure the most effective and fair prosecution of crime to keep Wake county safe. Learn more about her accomplishments below:

  • Established a felony domestic violence unit. Lorrin has established a domestic violence felony unit to address the scourge of spousal and family abuse. These domestic felony cases have increased during the pandemic, and there are now 500 a year in Wake County. By starting this new special felony unit, Lorrin is ensuring these cases are sent immediately to experienced prosecutors who have special training on how to ensure these cases are resolved and do not reoccur.
  • Cracked down on the increase in violent crime. Violent crime has been increasing nationwide, and Wake County is no exception. As the County’s first female DA, Lorrin has successfully led an office prosecuting hundreds of cases.
  • Held public officials accountable. Lorrin believes that government employees, elected officials and law enforcement officers must be held accountable. She has handled more cases against public officials than any DA in the state. She has prosecuted public officials who have stolen public money, recouping hundreds of thousands of dollars for taxpayers.
  • Expanded the special victims unit. While DA, Lorrin added an additional prosecutor and investigator. This unit handles child sexual assault and abuse cases including child fatalities.
  • Created an aggravated felony unit to address the rise in violent crime by assigning cases to specialized, experienced prosecutors.
  • Led efforts on helping those exit the criminal justice system re-enter our community successfully by connecting them with resources and pro Bono Attorneys to help them with expungements.
  • Created new diversion programs; including a mental health diversion program that prioritizes treatment compliance and allows for dismissal of the underlying charge if they maintain compliance.
  • Led an ongoing effort to improve our pretrial release practices. This helps ensure that no one is held in jail awaiting trial that doesn’t need to be there for public safety reasons.
  • Provided implicit bias training for all her staff In 2020 and held facilitated discussions on race, equity and inclusion.