Alameda County DA’s new policy will reduce prison sentences through widespread elimination of sentencing enhancements

OAKLAND — In a new policy that will reduce the average prison and jail sentences for criminal defendants in Alameda County, District Attorney Pamela Price is requiring prosecutors to “generally” not file sentencing enhancements to charges, or require them as part of plea deals.

In a memo circulated to the DA’s office Wednesday, Price wrote that the move is being made “in an effort to bring balance back to sentencing and reduce recidivism.” The memo requires that, “generally prosecutors shall not file or require defendants plead to sentence enhancements or other sentencing allegations.”

Price wrote that the policy has not been finalized and she’s open to feedback, referring to it as an “interim final directive” that will take effect later this week. It is scheduled to be finalized by the end of the month.

The policy allows for exceptions in “extraordinary” circumstances, including human trafficking, hate crimes, child or elder abuse and crimes that cause “extensive” physical injury. Still, the policy requires prosecutors obtain supervisory approval before moving forward with enhancements to any new case or plea deal, the memo says.

In response to a request for comment, Price’s communications director issued a statement saying the reasons for the new interim policy are twofold: to offer a more “fair and balanced administration of justice” and improve communications between the administration and line prosecutors who were only given “verbal directives” from the previous administration.

This is the first major policy shift from Price, who was sworn-in as district attorney in January.

“In the first-ever all employee survey, the deputies told us issuing guidelines should be a priority, and as a responsible manager, District Attorney Price has worked with our leadership team to develop guidelines consistent with the mandate given to her by the voters,” the statement reads. “This is not a top-down directive: our office is listening and working collectively to serve the people of Alameda County.”

Sentencing enhancements are abundant throughout the California penal code and can be tacked on to existing charges. Commonly utilized ones include gun enhancements, gang enhancements, enhancements for prior strike convictions, and personal use allegations, for cases when a defendant is alleged to have fired a gun.

They’re intended to reflect the seriousness of certain offenses. A gun enhancement in an assault or murder, for instance, carries significantly more prison time than an enhancement for use of a knife or a blunt object in the same crime, in part because firing a gun raises the potential for innocent bystanders to be injured or killed. Critics of sentencing enhancements argue they punish people multiple times for the same crime and are in part responsible for California’s overcrowded prison system.

Many of the most commonly used enhancements were passed in the 1990s, when then-Gov. Pete Wilson championed the Three Strikes Law and the so-called Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act, which targets gang members.

The policy is in keeping with Price’s campaign promises last year when she defeated longtime prosecutor Terry Wiley in the Nov. 8 general election. Price ran on a platform of justice reform, seeking alternatives to incarceration, holding police accountable and eliminating the use of special circumstances allegations that carry life without parole or the death penalty.

Within weeks of taking office, Price moved to eliminate special circumstances charges against an accused serial killer charged with murdering two women in Fremont, and kidnapping and murdering a young girl in Hayward in a separate incident, though the defendant is still facing 75 years to life. She is expected to review a number of other special circumstances cases in a case-by-case basis.