Alameda County

Report: Pamela Price’s Achievements in First 75 Days as Alameda County DA

The all-volunteer transition team supporting the administration of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has issued a report on the first 75 days of Price’s new administration as she works to implement criminal justice reform, enhance victims’ rights, and overcome the obstacles, disorganization, and inefficiency her administration uncovered when she took over the D.A.’s office in January.

Published

2 years ago

April 3, 2023

Oakland Post

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Y. Price front row center) with her Executive Leadership Team, including Chief Assistant District Attorneys Otis Bruce Jr. and Royl L. Roberts. Photo courtesy of Alameda County D.A.'s Office.

By Ken Epstein

Price made history in November 2022, becoming the first Black woman elected in the county’s history. “She ran on a promise to bring fairness and equality to the justice system…. (which has) left crime victims, with an overrepresentation of people of color, without resolution to their cases…(and) also over criminalized the economically disadvantaged,” the report said.

Some members of the Transition Team of Alameda County’s first Black District Attorney issued a 75-day report highlighting some of her accomplishments. Pictured above left to right Ray Bobbitt, Rev. Dr. Harold Orr, Atty. Walter Riley ,Paola Laverde, Rivka Polatnik and Atty. John Scott. Photo by Jonathanfitnessjones.

She based her reform efforts on the expressed will of Alameda County voters. “Since 2012, the voters of Alameda County have supported criminal justice reforms, such as Prop 36 to reduce the overly harsh penalties of California’s Three-Strikes law, implementing police oversight, and electing reform-minded candidates to other city and county offices,” the transition team’s report said.

The report, released Thursday at a press conference, was prepared by the Communications Committee of Price’s transition team: Barbara Becnel, co-chair; Ray Bobbitt, co-chair; Walter Riley, attorney; John Scott, attorney; and Rev. Harold Orr, M.D.

In an interview with the Oakland Post, Price said she feels particularly good about her efforts to “provide relief to the families and people who were trapped in Santa Rita County jail with no pathway to get mental health services.”

She also has been able to bring on a number of new staff in a short time, “which is unprecedented for this county” and to provide supplies and training for Victims and Witness Advocates. “This is really huge,” she said.

She knows some people want to go back to the old days. “Ms. O’Malley is gone, holding onto the past is not an option,” Price said. “People opposing (these changes) lost the election, but they still want another shot at the apple. However, we’re in the office and doing the work.”

The D.A.’s Office is responsible for prosecuting criminal and specific civil cases for the more than 1.5 million residents in Alameda County. The office operates in nine locations throughout the county’s 800 square miles and is staffed by about 150 attorneys and an inspectors’ division, composed of about 60 experienced peace officers.

Before and after she took office, Price received little support from the previous administration.

“She received little information about office operations, protocols and standards, staff information, and fiscal management. She has worked to fill these gaps in information while maintaining the critical and essential services that the Office provides,” the report says.

“The previous administration departed without providing comprehensive transition support… (though) it was a reasonable expectation to have the previous administration provide transition support for at least 90 days,” the report said.

The failure of the previous district attorney to provide basic information for the new D.A. included:

An up-to-date organizational chart
A current personnel roster
A current budget
Comprehensive reports on the activities of each of the operating units
A current list of the office’s contracts or operating agreements
A current list of the boards, committees, and task forces that the office participates in or is legally required to staff
A tour of the nine facilities that the office operates

Among Price’s key initiatives are support for victims of crime. Her office is improving working conditions and support for Victim-Witness Advocates.

These advocates offer emotional support for crime victims, victims’ rights information, help in finding needed resources and assistance in filling out crime victim-related forms.

“For the first time, the D.A.’s Office will subsidize (advocates’) parking and mileage and (cellphones) … and (sponsor) trauma-informed support training and information about restorative justice strategies for the entire Victim-Witness Advocate workforce.”

To implement fair and equal justice, Price has implemented a policy directive dealing with sentencing enhancements and plea bargains.

“Contrary to a false narrative, D.A. Price did not eliminate sentencing enhancements. She simply requires a case-by-case review of the appropriateness of sentencing enhancement(s) to ensure sentencing balance,” according to the report.

Price’s office has also “expanded the unit responsible for reviewing prior convictions including felony murder and serious crime cases for resentencing under the legislative mandate to eliminate disparity of sentences,” the report said.

The D.A.’s Office is improving technology to enable law enforcement, Child Protective Services, and the D.A.’s Office to share and track reports of child abuse.

Price has also expanded the types of cases pursued by the Consumer Environmental Worker Protection division to protect consumers, workers, tenants, and the environment.

To begin to hold police accountable, the D.A. has “established a protocol for officer-involved shooting reviews and updating the officer-involved shooting policy … (and) expanded the Public Accountability Unit, which announced eight investigations into officer-involved deaths,” the report said.

“In the first 60 days of the new administration, there have been four in-custody deaths at Santa Rita County jail,” the report said. “In addition, the office inherited numerous active cases of misconduct by police or public officials.”

To address mental health issues in communities, “The Office launched a community-based, countywide Mental Health Commission to advise the District Attorney on its response to Alameda County’s mental health crisis,” according to the report.

The Office (has already) “identified at least 37 people found incompetent to stand trial housed at Santa Rita County jail, (in order to) to provide them with services including housing placements and referrals,” the report said.

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Activism

OPINION: Solutions to the Housing Crisis Exist, but Governments Waste Tax Dollars Instead

People who are homeless want real housing, not temporary shelters that are dangerous and crowded. The City of Oakland has been telling the public that the sweeps of encampments are an effective solution, but it just pushes people from block to block, wasting tax money on paying police officers overtime in a budget crisis. This is true at the state level too, where California spends $42,000 per person that is unhoused per year. The city and state could just help pay residents’ rent, rather than pay for police to harass people on the streets, many of whom have disabilities or are elders.

Published

3 days ago

December 29, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Kimberly King and Victoria King

In a powerful demonstration of grassroots organizing, activists joined forces in direct action that started on Dec. 17 to call for the establishment of sanctuary communities across the West Coast

The goal of the effort is to raise awareness about misleading narratives around homelessness and to present concrete solutions to a crisis that leaves over 35,000 people unsheltered each night in the Bay Area.

The action, led by members of Oakland’s Wood Street Commons and Homefullness/Poor Magazine, represents a direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approach to homelessness. At the core of the movement is a fundamental truth: housing is a human right, not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit.

The coalition of organizations, led by people with lived experience of homelessness, coordinated their efforts to show the unity behind this movement, including setting up sweeps-free sanctuary communities and resource centers and presenting solutions to city council. The message is clear: unhoused residents refuse to remain invisible in the face of policies that have resulted in 347 deaths for people experiencing homelessness in Alameda County just this year alone.

The coalition presented four key demands, each addressing different aspects of the housing crisis. First, they called for the establishment of sanctuary communities instead of sweeps, urging the redirection of encampment management funds toward positive solutions like encampment upgrades and permanent low to no-income housing.

The second demand focuses on utilizing public land for public good, specifically identifying vacant properties like the Hilton Hotel on Port of Oakland land. The coalition emphasized the immediate availability of these spaces to house hundreds of currently unhoused residents.

Prevention forms the third pillar of the coalition’s demands, with calls for strengthened renter’s rights, rent subsidies, and a permanent moratorium on rental evictions and foreclosures for non-payment.

Finally, the coalition demands the defunding of coercive “Care Courts,” advocating instead for non-carceral approaches to mental health care and harm reduction.

The Poor People’s Campaign’s motto, “When we lift from the bottom, no one gets left behind,” encapsulates the spirit of the action. Daily activities, including opening prayers for those who have died while homeless, served as powerful reminders of the human cost of failed housing policies that treat housing as a commodity rather than a fundamental right.

As this crisis continues to unfold, these activist groups have made it clear that the solution to homelessness must come from those most directly affected by it.

About the Authors

Kimberly King and Victoria King are Oakland Residents who advocate for the unhoused and propose solutions to end homelessness and housing insecurity.

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Alameda County

Barbara Lee Releases Statement on Possible Run for Mayor of Oakland

Already, her backers are organizing to urge her to run for the position left vacant by the recall of former Mayor Sheng Thao, which became effective on Dec. 17. At present, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is serving temporarily as mayor.

Published

3 days ago

December 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo, Office of Rep. Barbara Lee.

By Ken Epstein

Questions continue to swirl in Oakland and throughout the Bay Area over the possibility that Congresswoman Barbara Lee might run for mayor of Oakland after she leaves Congress in January.

Already, her backers are organizing to urge her to run for the position left vacant by the recall of former Mayor Sheng Thao, which became effective on Dec. 17.

At present, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is serving temporarily as mayor.

Lee is already meeting with city leaders and learning more about the major issues facing the city. In a social media post on Dec. 20, she released a statement clarifying her timeline for making a decision.

“The decision to run for Mayor of Oakland, a city that I have long called home, is not one I take lightly,” she said.

“As my time in Congress wraps up, my current priority is navigating the crisis before us in DC. I am working around the clock to reach a deal that will keep our government open and provide crucial resources for my district,” she continued.

“I will announce my intentions in early January,” Congresswoman Lee said.

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Activism

Oakland Awarded $675,000 Grant to Reduce Lead Hazards

Published

4 days ago

December 29, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Post Staff

The City of Oakland has won a $675,800 grant from Partnership for the Bay’s Future (PBF) that will fund a two-year fellow to work in the Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department to support the development of lead hazard abatement and proactive rental inspection initiatives.

The award will assist in Oakland’s work to reduce lead hazards in older rental housing, especially in communities most impacted by housing instability. The City hired a consultant, Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, in 2024 to lead the technical aspect of the lead abatement work. By exploring the integration of lead hazard abatement with proactive rental inspections, the fellow’s work will aim to improve living conditions for families at risk of exposure and create safer homes for Oakland’s residents.

“We are grateful for the support of Partnership for the Bay’s Future for this award,” said Emily Weinstein, HCD director. “Housing safety and habitability are top priorities for our work in the coming year, and this fellow will ensure specific attention is paid to creating equitable solutions.”

The fellow will be dedicated full-time for the next two years to facilitate collaboration between HCD, Planning and Building Department (PBD), and a coalition of community partners. The total benefit to the City of Oakland is at least $675,800, of which $220,000 goes to a collaborative of community organizations to support the work.

The Healthy Havenscourt Collaborative brings essential community expertise to the project, connecting Oakland residents with resources and ensuring the program aligns with their needs.

These partners will engage residents directly to shape the program and make sure their voices are central to its design and implementation.

Coalition partners include Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP), La Clinica de la Raza, EBALDC, and Black Cultural Zone – all of which form the Healthy Havenscourt collaborative.