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Newport News public defender thanks council for pay supplement; seeks city help to expand school outreach
Summary
Chief Public Defender Beau Webb told the council the office is nearly fully staffed after a recent city pay supplement, outlined the office's structure and services, and proposed a partnership to expand criminal-justice outreach to local high schools.
Beau Webb, chief public defender for Newport News, told the City Council on Oct. 14 that a city‑authorized income supplement approved in the current fiscal year has helped his office recruit three additional attorneys and move toward full staffing.
“We are, state salaried. We're on the state retirement system. We're on state benefits,” Webb said. “But for the first time this fiscal year, the city of Newport News … has approved income supplements for my office, and I just want city council, city manager, mayor to know how appreciative my staff is for that.” Webb said the supplement helped the office add three attorneys and approach full staffing for the first time since the pandemic.
Jessica Crossett, chief deputy public defender, described the office’s structure and services. The Newport News Office of the Public Defender operates under the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission and is funded as a state agency. Crossett said the office is authorized for 20 attorney positions (19 filled at the time of the briefing), about 10 support staff, two investigators, a mitigation specialist (described as an office social worker), and a new peer navigator funded through a Recovery Corps partnership tied to opioid‑abatement funding.
“The mitigation specialist is someone who works to connect our clients to programs … to address substance abuse or mental health disorders,” Crossett said. She said the peer navigator — not a state position — is a Recovery Corps role staffed by someone with lived experience who can meet clients in jail or in the office to support recovery engagement.
Crossett emphasized the office’s role from initial appointment through appeal: public defenders represent indigent people who qualify under Virginia law from their first appearance and, absent a conflict, the judge first appoints the public defender’s office for any accused person facing potential incarceration.
Andrew (last name not specified), a member of the public defender team, proposed a school outreach pilot to demystify the criminal justice system and reach students before they have contact with law enforcement. He said the office currently runs the STARS program with one high school and can take about 16 students; the proposed pilot would bring interactive panels to other high schools, in partnership with the Commonwealth’s attorney’s office and the police department.
Council members and public safety leadership welcomed the suggestion. Councilman Coleman, chair of the council’s public safety committee, invited the office to join the committee’s work on expanding community partnerships and programming. Webb and his team asked the city for assistance in identifying appropriate pilot schools and contact information to coordinate the outreach.
No formal council action was taken; the presentation served to inform council members and request follow‑up collaboration.
