'It's time to have conversations': Mayor Walsh on Baker, Rollins dispute

BOSTON — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is calling for an end to the public battle over criminal justice reform in Suffolk County.

District Attorney Rachael Rollins and Governor Charlie Baker have been at odds over her plan to not prosecute some crimes.

For the first time, Walsh spoke about the dispute, saying, "It's time to not have any more public dustups. It's time to have conversations and move forward."

Last month, Rollins - who is responsible for prosecuting crimes in Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop - unveiled a 65-page memo detailing how her staff will hand "low level, non-violent" offenses. It calls for not prosecuting some misdemeanors like trespassing, shoplifting, and marijuana possession, in order to reduce the number of people who are in local jails and prisons.

>> PREVIOUS: Suffolk County DA releases detailed memo on criminal justice reform

Over the last week, both Baker and the state's secretary for public safety have expressed concerns about the new policies, which has led to a series of public comments by both sides.

"That's a big step from standard practice and one that we believe will make it harder to prosecute and arrest," said Baker.

MORE: DA Rollins responds to Baker Administration criticism of criminal justice plan

"Isn't it funny that when all the male DAs before me had this discretion we're moving toward mass incarceration, the governor did not give a [expletive] about that but miraculously when this DA wants to end mass incarceration, you're going to question the discretion that we have," said Rollins.

Rollins made that comment at a rally on Sunday. After, she said Baker had called her to apologize.

Walsh said Monday that these conversations need to take place behind closed doors and not through the press.

"It's time to have conversations and move forward. I mean, the District Attorney has a very important role to play here in the City of Boston, the Mayor's Office has a very important role in the City of Boston, and the Governor has an important role to play in the Commonwealth."

"It's time now not to play this out publicly but to have conversations. If anyone has an issue with policies, whether it's my policy, the DA's policy, the Governor's policy, we shouldn't be having the conversation to the press, we should be having the conversation to each other and to our teams to talk about how do we strengthen and improve that," said Walsh.

>> Governor Baker, DA Rollins 'resolve' dispute over criminal justice reform

Documents: Rollins' policy memo | Turco letter to Rollins

Cox Media Group