November 27, 2024: Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón Reflects on Transformative Achievements and a Commitment to Justice Reform

Landmark reforms, increased accountability, and a focus on community safety mark Gascón's tenure as District Attorney of Los Angeles County

Los Angeles, CA - As Thanksgiving approaches, District Attorney George Gascón reflects on the progress made during his tenure, expressing gratitude for the collective efforts that have shaped a more just and equitable Los Angeles County. Under his leadership, the Office has implemented historic reforms focused on public safety, transparency, and centering the needs of victims and communities disproportionately impacted by crime and systemic inequities.

"I'm incredibly proud of the progress we've made in creating a more fair, transparent, and accountable justice system," said District Attorney Gascón. "Thanks to the dedication of our staff, community leaders, and the people of Los Angeles County, we've advanced a racially equitable system that prioritizes safety, equity, and the rights of all. From local policy to statewide initiatives, our work has laid the foundation for a justice system grounded in prevention, compassion, and accountability, paving the way for future progress."

Major Accomplishments Under District Attorney Gascón's Leadership

Building a Safer Los Angeles

• Felony Prosecutions: Maintained or increased filing rates for violent crimes, including sex crimes, residential burglaries, and homicides, while shifting misdemeanor priorities away from criminalizing public health issues such as substance abuse, and instead focusing on public safety threats, such as domestic violence.
• Organized Retail Theft: Since 2021, filed nearly 1,500 cases of organized retail theft, including nearly 500 cases in 2024 alone, achieving an 89% conviction rate. Employed innovative strategies to prosecute organized criminal networks responsible for 'smash and grab' incidents. Additionally, spearheaded legislative efforts to address this growing issue, such as supporting the elimination of the sunset date on California's Organized Retail Theft statute (AB 1802), ensuring its continued effectiveness.
• Community Violence Reduction: Through partnerships with law enforcement, LADA embedded prosecutors in local police stations and prosecuted high-profile cases, including securing a 37-count indictment related to a series of violent shootings across Inglewood, Compton, and Los Angeles.
• Protecting Reproductive Rights and Service Providers: Following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, District Attorney Gascón joined 82 other elected prosecutors in committing to not criminalizing those who seek, assist in, or provide abortions. LADA proudly supported California's successful efforts for both the expansion of care (SB 1245) and prohibition of information sharing about personal health care choices (AB 1242).

• Statewide Impact: LADA was ranked the most effective legislative advocacy organization of 2024, with an 89% success rate in securing adoption of its positions on bills by the state legislature. Several of these bills originated from LADA, including AB 2907, which enhanced protections for victims of domestic violence, stalking, and elder abuse against gun violence, and multiple bills to combat the growing impact of AI porn and digital harassment. In prior years, LADA sponsored legislation to effectively combat catalytic converter theft (SB 55), protect immigrants (AB 1261, SB 836), and expand protections and services for crime victims. View all legislation sponsored or supported by the Gascón administration here.

• Reducing Violent Crime: While the country experienced a nationwide uptick in crime following the pandemic, Los Angeles County continues to report a decrease in crime in 2024, in line with national trends. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's latest report includes double digit decreases in homicides YTD and LAPD overwhelmingly reports that 2024 has the lowest crime comparisons to 2022 and 2023.

Advancing Equity and Reform

• Youth Justice: Introduced policies to eliminate the prosecution of children as adults and reduce the school-to-prison pipeline, which led to more than 747 youth kept out of adult court, with only ten cases transferred since 2021. Co-sponsored successful legislation that provides greater relief for sealing of juvenile records (AB 2629) and expanded diversion programs available for youth.

• Exonerations: Tripled the size of the Conviction Integrity Unit, exonerating a total of 15 innocent individuals, including Maurice Hastings, who spent 38 years in prison, narrowly escaping the death penalty for a crime he did not commit.

• Second Chances: Established the Office's Resentencing Unit, resentencing 345 individuals with a < 0.1% recidivism rate for those whose resentencing resulted in their release, providing second chances to those rehabilitated.
• Ending the Death Penalty: Stopped seeking the death penalty as an irreversible, expensive and ineffective punishment, and successfully resentenced 38 people on death row from Los Angeles County to life without the possibility of parole.
• Challenging Overly Punitive Approaches: Ended the use of gang enhancements and challenged the automatic imposition of California's Three Strikes Law, citing research showing that longer prison sentences fail to enhance public safety and disproportionately impact marginalized communities.

Accountability for All

• Law Enforcement Accountability: Charged nearly 150 law enforcement personnel for crimes ranging from DUI to voluntary manslaughter, marking unprecedented accountability. The Office also filed more criminal cases arising out of on-duty officer-involved shootings than it had over the course of the prior combined 20 years. D.A. Gascón filed 12 criminal cases involving the on-duty use of unreasonable force on 19 officers, and six cases arising from on-duty officer-involved shootings against eight officers, for a total of 18 cases involving 27 officers from 2021 through 2024. By comparison, the Lacey administration filed one officer-involved shooting case from 2012 to 2020 and the Cooley administration filed none from 2000 to 2012. LADA's Special Prosecutor indicted two Torrance police officers for the December 2018 fatal shooting of Christopher Deandre Mitchell, a case that had been declined under the prior administration.
• Hate Crimes and Bias: Maintained a hate crime charge filing rate of 84%, more than double the statewide average, and launched innovative restorative justice programs like REACCH to combat bias and hate.

Supporting Victims and Survivors

• Expanding Service Capacity: Hired an additional 30 victim service representatives to assist survivors of crime, victims' families, and witnesses with navigating the criminal justice system and accessing available resources in the aftermath of a crime.
• Providing Trauma-Informed Care: Ensured continuing education opportunities for all BVS staff in trauma-informed care, self-care, and resiliency through a professional development program and a Peer-to-Peer support group. Since 2021, LADA's Bureau of Victim Services (BVS) has assisted tens of thousands of people in need of support, and thousands more with securing financial support through state funding.
• Legislative Advocacy: Sponsored and passed key legislation, including the "Immigrant Rights Act," to protect undocumented crime survivors and witnesses from deportation.
• Amplifying Survivor Voices: Established the Office's first-ever Crime Victims Advisory Board, to ensure victims and survivors voices were consistently represented in the work of the Office.
• Enforcing Domestic Violence Restraining Orders (DVRO): Closed the communication loophole between the courts and law enforcement to strengthen DVRO protections, ensuring all law enforcement agencies have the timely information they need to investigate these dangerous firearms violations and protect those in danger.
• Mass Tragedy Response: Improved upon the Office's mass casualty response which led to LADA's BVS becoming the lead survivor service provider on site of the Monterey Park Lunar New Year mass shooting, providing immediate and long-term support to the community.

Environmental and Labor Justice

• Filed landmark cases against companies for environmental violations, including charges stemming from hazardous pollution impacting Jordan High School in Watts.
• Established the Office's first-ever Labor Justice Unit to combat wage theft, filing cases that exposed exploitation and unsafe working conditions.

Transparency and Community Engagement:

• Established seven community advisory boards (AAPI, LGBTQ+, Crime Victims, African American, Latine, Women, and Interfaith) to bring diverse perspectives into prosecutorial policies.
• Hosted over 100 town halls, community events, and public forums, bridging trust between the District Attorney's Office and the communities we serve.

• Expanded community and public access by live-streaming all press conferences, increasingmedia availability, press conferences, and press releases, growing the Office'ssocial media presence to six platforms, and launching the "Ask the DA" initiative.

Looking Ahead

District Attorney Gascón emphasized the need to build on these reforms, stating, "The work is far from over. Justice is not static-it evolves. It requires us to listen and lead from a place of compassion and courage. Our office has shown that reform and public safety can coexist. I hope these achievements serve as a blueprint for future progress."

As Los Angeles County prepares for the next chapter, the District Attorney's Office remains committed to its core mission of protecting public safety while promoting fairness and equity for all communities.

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