Chester County is getting a new DA. Both candidates are touting law enforcement changes — especially after Cavalcante’s escape

After a convicted murderer’s escape from the county prison made international headlines, the candidates vying for Chester County’s top law enforcement post are talking reform and vowing heightened safety.

Republican Ryan Hyde, 47, a criminal defense attorney from Uwchlan Township, and Democrat Chris de Barrena-Sarobe, 40, a former prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware who lives in Willistown, are both former county prosecutors. Hyde served five years in Bucks County and de Barrena-Sarobe previously worked in the office he now seeks to lead. They are competing to replace District Attorney Deb Ryan, who is not seeking reelection but instead is running for a seat on Common Pleas Court.

In recent interviews, Hyde and de Barrena-Sarobe said among their first priorities is learning more about the prison escape in which Danilo Cavalcante was able to scale a wall inside the county prison on Aug. 31 and lead hundreds of law enforcement officers on a two-week manhunt.

De Barrena-Sarobe pledged to ask sharp questions about the incident and push for answers beyond what officials have shared with the public so far in news conferences and town hall meetings.

Noting that another prisoner had escaped months before Cavalcante — using the same means — de Barrena-Sarobe said he wanted to better understand why prison officials did not learn from that incident and put preventive measures in place.

“My first question will be: How did we get from knowing and having an escape in May, to minimal changes being made and the issue not being addressed fully?” he asked, referring to the escape of Igor Bolte.

“I think we’ve gotten a lot of answers from commissioners, and I give them credit for talking to the community and giving those answers, but we cannot dig deep enough,” he said, adding that he will request email and phone records if elected. (In Chester County, the district attorney is part of the county prison board.)

Hyde agreed, but warned that missteps before Cavalcante’s escape initially went unnoticed and are indicative of larger failings.

“Everybody views Cavalcante as this one-off disastrous effect, but ... it’s that constant buildup. Mistake here, mistake there.”

Hyde said he’s had conversations with multiple county prosecutors who recently left the job, citing disorganization and a demoralizing lack of guidance and training from senior leadership. And while he doesn’t blame Ryan or her office for Cavalcante’s escape — and even credits her for a job well done in securing a conviction against him at trial — he said the turnover of prosecutors is troubling.

If elected, he said, he would work to make prosecutors more visible in the community and establish better partnerships with local police departments.

Improving morale and organization, he said, would also help combat what he described as a troubling rise in property and quality-of-life crimes in Chester County, including a spike in carjackings and burglaries.

“It’s still a very safe county, and no one’s saying that Chester County is unsafe. But what I am saying is that you’re seeing a 10% year-over-year increase in criminal activity,” he said. “If you keep doing things the same way over and over again, eventually you’re not going to get that same result.”

» READ MORE: Carjacking continues to plague Philadelphia. Here’s how young carjackers say they get away with it.

After overseeing several high-profile drug and gang prosecutions in Delaware — including the capture of a Mexican cartel leader who had held an American teenager hostage — de Barrena-Sarobe said that if elected, his focus as the top prosecutor would be addressing similar issues in Chester County.

It’s clear, he said, that addiction, particularly to opioids and methamphetamines, is fueling many crimes in the county.

“Recognizing the source of that issue, recognizing we need to do everything we can as law enforcement to investigate dealing at highest levels is a top priority of mine,” he said. “But so is making sure we do all we can with treatment to make sure we have progress on this year by year to make a final change in this problem.”

Part of making that change, he said, is streamlining cases and when appropriate, moving them out of the criminal system to specialty drug and mental health courts, as well as relying on programs such as the Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative, started by then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

Despite being on opposite sides of the political aisle, Hyde and de Barrena-Sarobe said they respect each other and take pride that the race has not devolved to “mudslinging.”

Still, each said he is a better fit for the top office.

Hyde touted his experience as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, saying the breadth of that experience gives him an edge.

“I’ve lived here for the last 10 years. I’ve seen the courtrooms, and I’ve seen the people working,” Hyde said. “Chris is a good attorney. But when people talk about the drug problem in Coatesville, I’ve represented people in Coatesville.”

De Barrena-Sarobe said his time as a federal prosecutor has given him the tools to handle complex cases.

“My advantage is experience,” he said. “If something goes wrong, if something unpredictable happens, I know what resources I can call in for help, and I’m not afraid to call my federal partners to get that help.”