July 10, 2023
During her historic first six months in office, District Attorney Pamela Price has hired 80 diverse individuals, including attorneys, victim/witness advocates and paraprofessionals.
OAKLAND, CA – On Friday, June 30, 2023, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price administered the oath of office to the 80th new staff member to join the office since the beginning of her administration as the new DA. Among those hired over the last six months are: 24 paraprofessionals, 23 attorneys, 15 victim-witness advocates and 12 law clerks.
When DA Price assumed office on January 3, 2023, the office had a vacancy rate of more than 20%.
DA Price surveyed staff upon taking office and made it her mission to address the number of vacant positions in order to better serve the citizens of Alameda County.
“When I spoke with existing staff, the number one thing I heard was a call for help to staff up the office. Vacancies had not been filled in some time, with some positions sitting vacant for years. This has created an extreme backlog of cases and limits our ability to support victims of crime,” DA Price said.
One example of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is in the new hires to the Victim-Witness Advocate Division. Twelve new victim-witness advocates include the office’s first female transgender advocate, the first advocate who speaks and writes in both Cantonese and Mandarin, and the first advocate who speaks the indigenous Mayan language of Mam.
They are the largest and most diverse class of hires in the modern history of the DA’s office.
“Our victim-witness advocates are the heart of the District Attorney’s Office,” DA Price emphasized. “I was shocked to see the number of vacancies within this Unit.”
“I was also stunned to find that Alameda County’s 14 Collaborative Courts were virtually unstaffed. These courts focus on rehabilitation as a proven means to reduce recidivism.” DA Price said. “In six months, we haven’t just filled these positions, we’ve filled the docket of cases being heard before many of these courts.”
On June 26, 2023, DA Price announced the promotion of Kristina Molina to the Director of the Victim-Witness Assistance Division and Karla Elias-Flores to the Director of the Family Justice Center.
Madam DA Price pictured with the most recent graduating Victim Witness Advocates
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The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (DAO) is one of California’s largest prosecutors’ offices and is led by Alameda County’s first Black woman District Attorney Pamela Y. Price. Price brings her vision to this office to fairly administer justice in the pursuit of thriving, healthy, and safe communities for every person who steps foot in Alameda County, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, income, or zip code. Price has been recognized as one of the most progressive prosecutors through her forward-thinking, innovative strategies to interrupt cycles of violence and crime and bring change to a criminal justice system rooted in systemic racism. Follow Madam DA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and @AlamedaCountyda on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
## Contact: Public Information Officer Patti Lee, damedia@acgov.org // 628-249-1288