By Shriya Kali Chittapuram
OAKLAND, CA – Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price this past week participated in an AAPI Community Forum in Oakland, where she had the chance to engage with influential Asian American community leaders, as reported by the Protect The Win campaign.
Price emphasized the importance of unity, accurate information, and community in her speech with the goal to find practical solutions to enhance public safety, and during the event, she addressed misinformation that spanned her career.
Price noted her overall commitment to public safety and victim advocacy, highlighting achievements from 2023, and outlined plans for the future, detailed by the Protect The Win campaign.
“Our team, consisting of lawyers, advocates, the Family Justice Center, internal colleagues, visitors to the office, and an amazing team from the very beginning, entered an office environment that was toxic and lacking clear accountability lines. As one of my team members described it, the office seemed to be running on fumes.
“We immediately took action, hitting the ground running, to assess and rebuild the office. Despite challenging conditions, our dedicated team remained committed to serving the people,” said DA Price.
DA Price emphasized her commitment for a future community based justice, stating, “And that my deputies understand that their mandate is not just to get a conviction, but to do justice.”
As shown through clips from the forum, DA Price emphasized her stance on the importance of proper schooling, commenting, “If I could engage all of us, it’s in supporting our schools. Education is a gamechanger, and we really need to be better about that, and that’s where the community is.”
The Protect The Win website featured more of DA Price’s achievements during her tenure, including, increased prosecutorial support for the Oakland Police Department and assigned a seasoned deputy to advise them, prioritized health and wellness support for all staff in the wake of multiple suicides in the office, trained attorneys on the Racial Justice Act, established a community-based Mental Health Commission and founded a community-based re-entry Commission.
The Protect The Win campaign stated Price consistently advocates for community-based programs in order to foster a better atmosphere for criminal justice, adding DA Price shed light on the collaborative efforts between her office and the Oakland Police Department.
The Protect The Win website also praises Price’s commitment to victim advocacy, detailing a nearly 35 percent increase in victim advocates, serving over 22,500 survivors in 2023.
Price’s office said it has successfully reduced a substantial backlog of victim services inherited from her predecessor. Additionally, DA Price expanded staffing for mental health courts and initiated the establishment of community-based commissions, including the Mental Health Commission, Victims Advisory Commission and Reentry Commission.
