Watch CBS News

New PA Attorney General Pledges A New Approach

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- After the governor, he's probably the most visible statewide officer, and Attorney General-elect Josh Shapiro intends to make it more so.

"I want to be the one person that every Pennsylvanian can rely on to protect their rights," Shapiro told KDKA political editor Jon Delano on Tuesday in his first sit-down TV interview.

Shapiro succeeds the scandal-plagued Kathleen Kane, so priority one is restoring the office's good name by appointing the first chief integrity officer.

"The chief integrity officer is going to be someone who reports directly to me," says Shapiro.

"So they're not going to be filtered through other staff. They're also going to oversee our equivalent of internal affairs. And they're going to be there as someone who can positively, positively inform the staff as to the do's and don'ts."

In Pittsburgh as part of forums he's holding across the state to learn more about citizen concerns, Shapiro sees himself as a consumer advocate.

"My litmus test is very simple. If the people of Pennsylvania have been wronged, then I'm going to go after who wronged them. And it doesn't matter to me if it's some big multi-national corporation or a ma and pa shop on the corner here in Squirrel Hill."

Shapiro says he'll work with fellow attorneys general, regardless of party, noting recent discussions with neighboring AGs.

"We began a conversation on how to stem the flow of heroin in and out of our borders, how we could better cooperate on that."

Shapiro cites combatting heroin, opioids, and prescription drug abuse as key, and he promises a new mind-set.

"It's not enough to go to the street corners and arrest the drug dealers," he says.

"We also have to go to the boardrooms of pharmaceutical companies and in doctors' offices and other places in order to make sure we're not improperly pushing opioid painkillers out in the marketplace which ultimately a gateway to heroin."

And the new AG says, stop jailing non-violent defendants.

"We jail often times the wrong people. What do I mean by that? People who are drug addicts and are non-violent should be diverted into drug and alcohol treatment, which by the way would save taxpayers a huge amount of money."

Shapiro says that Allegheny County, for example, spends $22,000 a year jailing a non-violent drug user when good treatment programs cost $6,000 a year.

It's another example of how Shapiro hopes to bring a different thought process to both criminal and civil prosecutions in the state.

Shapiro will be sworn in next Tuesday, January 17, in Harrisburg.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.