Newly sworn-in Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley is cleaning house.
In a July 2 message to office staff members, Dudley announced that rather than appointing a new chief assistant district attorney, she will use the funds to create three new focus divisions. The leaders of these units will report to Dudley directly.
The decision is in response to reported increases in gang- and sexual assault-related crimes.
“It is my goal that by this time next year, the county will see a decisive decrease in the aforementioned cases,” Dudley said in the memo.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Hilary Dozer will lead the gang-related crime unit. Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen will head the vulnerable victims unit, which will handle domestic violence cases and felony sexual assault crimes against children, seniors, and other vulnerable populations. Senior Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss has been tasked with developing user-friendly computer tools to help prosecutors.
This article appears in Jul 8-15, 2010.