OAKLAND, CA — After 37 proud years as a member of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, District Attorney Nancy E. O’Malley announced Tuesday that she has decided not to seek a fourth term in the upcoming election.
“I could not be more thankful for the career I have had in the best District Attorney’s Office in the state and certainly one of the best in the nation. The overwhelming respect for this Office is widespread and well earned,” DA O’Malley said.
DA O’Malley will complete her term that ends in the beginning of 2023.
“I will work as I hard as I have in the past as I continue to lead this office,” she said.
O’Malley joined the District Attorney’s Office in September 1984 and became the first woman elected to the position of District Attorney, taking on the role in 2009.
“As long as I have been in the Office, first as a Deputy District Attorney and then in leadership as Chief Assistant and now District Attorney, our actions have always been grounded in seeking the truth, fighting for justice and working with compassion for others,” states DA O’Malley.
“We have consistently strived to ensure that the criminal justice system in California and Alameda County is more responsive, more aware and more humane for those who are accused, for victims of crime and for those who witnessed crime.”
DA O’Malley’s legacy is far-reaching.
Under her leadership, the office expanded the victim/witness division to 40 victim advocates and opened the Family Justice Center, the second of its kind in the country. The FJC provides services primarily to women and children who are victims of domestic violence, sex assault or human trafficking, or elder/dependent care abuse or child abuse.
The office has become an undisputed leader in combating human trafficking. In 2009, DA O’Malley introduced H.E.A.T Watch (Human Exploitation and Trafficking), a blueprint for all communities to build their anti-trafficking initiatives. H.E.A.T. Watch is now a national model.
In 2011, DA O’Malley created the District Attorney Justice Academy (DAJA) for juniors and seniors in high school. The now countywide program helps youth find their passion, and advocate for a better society. More than 1,000 students have participated in the program, and 100% have gone off to college.
DA O’Malley also led an initiative on both a national and statewide level to test forensic sexual assault kits. After discovering the crisis of untested sexual assault kits in police evidence, O’Malley took the issue to the White House. President Obama signed into law the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
DA O’Malley has also written, sponsored and advocated for more than 61 bills that have become law in the State of California.
Since the beginning of her DA career, she has fought for the appropriate treatment of inmates; Individuals sentenced to State Prison for the most serious crimes committed in Alameda County make up less than 3% of the total prison population. “We have created more alternative courts to incarceration than any other county in the State and perhaps the country, per capita,” O’Malley added.
“I am grateful to all of those in the county and in the office who have given me great support over the course of my career. Your voices have contributed to the success and progress of the office and to the safety of our community,” DA O’Malley stated.
