Alameda County voters are set to decide on the possible recall of District Attorney Pamela Price over her efforts at criminal justice reform.
Price was elected less than two years ago and promised to cut the rate of incarceration, particularly of young Black men. She said she would not using enhancements to beef up jail sentences that she said disproportionately affected people of color.
The beginning of Price’s term in 2023 also coincided with a surge in crime, with Alameda County seeing double-digit percentage increases in violent and property crimes . Price sparked immediate criticism over her refusal to seek more serious charges in multiple cases, which her opponents claimed was creating a system of “catch and release.”
Just three months into her term, Price was defending herself from criticism over her handling of a case involving the suspects in the 2021 gang-related fatal shooting of 23-month-old Jasper Wu on Interstate Highway 880 in Oakland.