District Attorney Anthony Gulluni speaks to eighth graders at Birchland Park Middle School in East Longmeadow as part of his office’s Adopt-a-Class outreach program.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
SPRINGFIELD — The public may think of the Hampden County District Attorney’s office only when they have an interaction with law enforcement.
However, District Attorney Anthony Gulluni has made it part of his mission to introduce himself to young people and connect with them on a variety of issues.
“Public safety is my end goal, but there’s a lot of ways we can get there,” Gulluni said. His office has a robust series of outreach presentations and programs, which Director of Community Safety and Outreach Antonio Simmons said is “unique” to the Hampden County district attorney’s office.
“I started talking about this when I was elected in 2014,” Gulluni said. He took office as the national opioid crisis was worsening into an epidemic. The public health and safety emergency led the office to partner with experts and begin educating young people and families.
“It proved community engagement was important to making progress,” Gulluni said. Since then, engagement, particularly with middle school and high school students, has been a key part of the office’s strategy to reduce crime and increase public safety. It has also allowed the office to pull back the curtain and be transparent about how law enforcement and the legal system work.
In 2025 alone, members of Gulluni’s office engaged with about 14,000 young people at schools and community events. Most of the engagement is done through preventative programs. Just Once explores the dangers of experimenting with drugs and prescription medicines. There is also the 1 in 11: Preventing Dating Violence presentation and presentations about internet, social media and gaming safety.
Hoop Up Springfield invites youth to American International College Sports Complex “with the lure of a basketball game,” Gulluni said, but provides an opportunity to show them the college’s campus and encourages them to picture themselves going to college, as well as applying for a summer job.
The district attorney’s office recently launched Herizon, a program aimed at teaching girls about leadership and goal setting and giving them a safe space to share their challenges. Gulluni said it “exceeded expectations,” with more than 30 girls taking part in the voluntary program. The program is run by women in the office, providing the girls with a chance to see a potential future working in the legal system. Court tours allow students to see themselves working in the legal system, be it in law enforcement, as a prosecutor or as a judge. “Opportunities are everywhere,” Gulluni said.
Simmons said storytelling is the “key” factor in engaging with youth because it lets them put themselves in the situations that are discussed.
Rather than purchasing ready-made presentations, the programs are all designed by the Gulluni’s office. It has allowed them to tailor presentations on the issues affecting particular towns and cities in Hampden County. Videos feature experienced local prosecutors, victims and former perpetrators.
Simmons said it is “getting harder” to present developmentally appropriate material to middle schoolers. He said young people are exposed to swearing, nudity and adult topics at earlier ages than in the past.
The “scared straight” programs that were common in the 1990s and early 2000s are the wrong approach to interacting with students, Gulluni said. Rather than intimidation, he said, “It’s talking to people at their level. There’s a lot of scary stuff out there, but we’ve been able to package it in a way that breaks that down. We’re going into schools all over the county with a fundamental philosophy that every kid can do great things.”
Gulluni shared a story about visiting Chestnut Legacy School. The crowd of 200 eighth graders were restless at the beginning of the presentation, but not long after the program began, they settled down and “they were pretty silent for 45 minutes or so,” he said, adding that the teachers were surprised at their students were rapt by the presentation. He explained, “We’ve got it down to a little bit of a science. Grab these young people’s attention, talk about interesting topics. We’ve gotten many kids to laugh, to cry, to sit there, wide-eyed.”
There is no hard data on the efficacy of the outreach programs. Simmons said, “It’s hard to measure whether you prevented somebody from committing a crime.” But he believes they are working. He said, high schoolers tell Gulluni that they still remember him coming to their school in fifth grade. People share the impact the programs have had on them. Young people return week after week for voluntary programs. “Some kids are showing up in our Future Lawyers of Springfield program,” Gulluni said.
Young people are not the only age group Gulluni visits. Outreach programs on elder abuse and scams are popular at senior centers and nursing homes and there is a presentation for mandated reporters. A Stop the Swerve event is scheduled for April 2 at the Basketball Hall of Fame. People will be able to see video presentations, enter contests, experience sobriety testing and try goggles that simulate intoxication. Such events are aimed at what Simmons called, “prevention before prosecution.”
No matter which program the district attorney’s office presents, Gulluni said, “We work to make sure we’re protecting the most vulnerable.”
