California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state’s National Guard prosecutors will take over cases in Alameda County, dealing a blow to progressive District Attorney Pamela Price.
Newsom made the announcement Monday, months after the California Highway Patrol expanded and deployed to Oakland to help local law enforcement fight crime.
The Democrat said the National Guard’s Drug Enforcement Task Force has finalized an agreement with the California Department of Justice that “is inspired by a successful partnership established in San Francisco with District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, which has helped increase felony narcotics convictions in San Francisco.”
Newsom added: “I am grateful for the swift work done here by the Attorney General and the California National Guard to quickly finalize this agreement so that these talented attorneys can quickly help secure justice for the people of the Bay Area.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that the state’s National Guard prosecutors will take over cases in Alameda County.
Price is the latest progressive district attorney to run on a platform of offender rehabilitation and police accountability to face a recall vote.
Earlier this year, the governor rescinded an offer to send prosecutors to Oakland to crack down on rising crime in the San Francisco Bay Area city, where brazen daylight robberies have drawn national attention.
At the time, Newson said Price’s office did not benefit from the offer because it missed the deadline to file the application, which Price denied.
In response to Gavin’s decision, Price issued a statement saying he welcomes state prosecutors.
Price added: “We hope that the swift agreement reached between the Department of Justice and CalGuard will produce equally swift results, and my office stands ready to assist in that effort in any way possible.”
Newsom has also deployed more than 100 California Highway Patrol officers to help crack down on criminal activity in Oakland, a city of 400,000 people across the Bay from San Francisco.
San Francisco has seen an increase in violent crime, including serious drug crimes, shoplifting and car theft, although other urban centers in California are seeing a decline in crime.
Price is the latest progressive district attorney to run on a platform of offender rehabilitation and police accountability to face a recall vote in November.
San Francisco has seen an increase in violent crime, including serious drug crimes, shoplifting and auto theft, although crime in other California urban centers is declining.
A homeless encampment in Oakland, California
The DA is fighting a recall effort just two years after she was elected in November 2022, several months after San Francisco voters ousted Chesa Boudin from the top DA post.
Like Price, Boudin was also a political newcomer in his first term as district attorney, whose critics gathered enough signatures to put the issue to voters.
Prior to taking office, Price was a civil rights attorney who defended women, victims of domestic violence and youth caught up in the criminal justice system.
Opponents say it has emboldened criminals at a time when Oakland, the county’s most populous city, has reported a surge in crime, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to send highway patrol officers and state attorneys general to help.
Supporters say Price has been targeted by wealthy conservatives who don’t want to reform a flawed and racist criminal justice system. They say he should be given more time to fulfill his campaign promises.