Alameda County Public Defender blasts governor for sending more prosecutors

(KRON) — Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to send state prosecutors into Alameda County to convict Oakland criminals is like using a band-aid to fix a broken arm, the county’s top public defender said Thursday.

Newsom’s dedication of state lawyers for prosecuting local cases will fuel “mass incarceration” and devastate minority communities, Alameda County Chief Public Defender Brendon Woods said.

Newsom is sending more than 100 state law enforcement officers — California Highway Patrol officers — to make more arrests, as well as state prosecutors to convict criminals in court.

“They’re trying to use a band-aid to fix a broken arm. More prosecution and more police is not the solution here. We need housing, money for community-based organizations, higher wages, employment, as well as money for our schools, medical care and mental health,” Woods said.

“People turn to crime because they have a sense of hopelessness,” Woods said. “Locking them up, taking away their prospects for employment and making their families’ lives difficult actually makes our communities less safe in the long run.”

Gov. Newsom to deploy attorneys to Oakland to boost prosecutions

The Public Defender’s Office said it is not aware of a shortage of local prosecutors that preceded Newsom’s announcement. In addition, no new state funding was allocated to the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office, despite the fact that increased prosecution will lead to more cases being filed and increased caseloads. The Public Defender’s Office budget is approximately $54.1 million per year, while the District Attorney’s Office gets $96 million per year, according to Woods.

In the past, California’s experiments with increased prosecution and harsher sentences led to mass incarceration and severe prison overcrowding, according to the Public Defender’s Office. Black and Brown communities, as well as poor and mentally ill people, were targeted, Woods’ office said.

Calls for crime crackdowns also embolden law enforcement abuses, such as the “Riders” and other scandals at the Oakland Police Department.

“We can’t keep doing this over and over,” Woods said. “We need different solutions.”

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price was elected into office on a platform calling for criminal justice reforms, seeking alternatives to lengthy prison sentences, and offering more social services and communities programs.

Price voiced her support for Newsom’s plan if it focused on cases such as organized retail rings and fentanyl-related drug cases.

Price’s office wrote Thursday, “As he did last summer in San Francisco, California, Governor Gavin Newsom is now sending attorneys from the Judge Advocate General to bolster the effort to prosecute organized retail crime and fentanyl-related drug cases in Alameda County.
The joint effort includes the Department of Justice teaming up with the governor and DA Pamela Price, providing legal services and law enforcement expertise in prosecuting major illegal enterprises.”

District Attorney Price said, “This new partnership signals that state and county law enforcement are seizing the moment to work together in aggressively prosecuting people who do harm to folks who live, work, and play in Alameda County. Prosecutors in my office are leading that fight every day here locally in Alameda County, and we welcome the assistance offered by Governor Newsom and AG Rob Bonta to increase our capacity to prosecute any additional cases generated by the increased presence of CHP officers in Oakland and Alameda County.”

Newsom’s press release stated that the plan is “to increase the capacity to prosecute suspects involved in violent crimes, serious drug-related crimes, and property crimes — including retail theft and auto burglary — in Oakland and the East Bay.”

Deputy attorneys general from the California Department of Justice and attorneys from the California National Guard will be “deployed” to prosecute suspects arrested for “serious and complex crimes in Alameda County,” the governor’s office wrote.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he considers the East Bay home, and his state prosecutors will put “bad actors” behind bars.

Bonta said, “The East Bay is my home, and I’m committed to ensuring that the people of Oakland can live and work in a safe community. The California Department of Justice has legal and law enforcement expertise to bring to bear as we work collaboratively to hold bad actors accountable. I welcome this partnership with local and state law enforcement, the Governor’s Office, and most importantly, the Oakland community, to ensure that justice is done so that Oakland residents can thrive and prosper.”

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