Upgrades to DA's office paying off

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The Hampden County District Attorney's office has made major upgrades that have saved the office thousands of dollars.

District Attorney, Mark Mastroianni says that the major driving force behind some of these changes, was the tornado.

Their office on State Street was virtually destroyed by the June 1 tornado, and that meant a major overhaul of the way they do pretty much everything.

During a tour with local legislators of their new office space at Tower Square in Springfield Friday morning, Mastroianni said there have been major upgrades to everything from basic things like copiers and printers to the phone system. “We revamped them all. We revised and updated all the technology in our office, and by doing that, the updated technology of course had an upfront cost, but there is a long term savings that will be realized by the D.A.’s Office, which helps our budget,” the District Attorney said.

According to Mastroianni, that means more money for better equipment during trials. For example, with the extra money in his budget, his office was able to get new equipment during the Eric Denson murder trial that helped them argue their case to jurors. They used new high tech television screens that were able to freeze the surveillance video used in the case and show jurors details they might not see otherwise.

Mastroianni says all of this helps them argue cases more efficiently, which he says is good for the general public.