After almost 20 years of serving as a prosecuting attorney in Santa Barbara County, Senior Deputy District Attorney Joyce Dudley is ready for a promotion.
At a Sept. 1 press conference in Santa Barbara, Dudley announced that she’s running for district attorney.
In her candidacy speech, Dudley said one of the reasons she’s running is to address the way the district attorney’s office responds to certain “critical circumstances.” Dudley said in her speech that she’s heard from members of the public that response to forest fires, budget negotiations, and other issues has been “too slow and passive.”
“My criticism is directed at what occurred, not at the individual person
[current District Attorney Christie Stanley],” Dudley told the Sun.
“I heard in the community and from communicating with county agencies after the fires that people were frustrated with how the D.A.’s office notified the public [of the ongoing fire investigations],” Dudley said. “It’s not that they expected the D.A. to divulge details of the filings; it’s that they wanted to be kept abreast of the process.”
Dudley also referenced the county budget hearings earlier this summer, during which the district attorney’s office received less funding than the public defender’s office.
“Many members of the public and attorneys I talked to felt the arguments [for funding] were not as strong as they could have been,” Dudley said.
To improve upon these issues, Dudley said, she plans to increase transparency in the department by developing a stronger rapport with the media if elected. She also has plans to create an arson unit, a truancy program, and anti-violence programs, among others.
The arson unit, she said, wouldn’t cost the county additional funds because she would ask current employees in the office to receive arson investigation training (similar to what she received while prosecuting a hate crime).
According to her website, dudley4da.com, Dudley has prosecuted some of the toughest criminal cases in the county—specifically
violent crimes—with a 98 percent conviction rate.
Dudley said she plans to use that experience to combat crime in the county, including an increase in gang violence.
“You have to look at the big picture,” Dudley said. “We have to approach it countywide. They’re can’t be any finger-pointing and saying, ‘It’s not in our neighborhood.’”
Drawing on her background as an educator, Dudley said it’s important to have a multi-tiered approach to combating gang violence that includes prevention, intervention, and rehabilitative education.
“The problem doesn’t end when someone goes to prison,” she said.
This article appears in Sep 3-10, 2009.
