 | Public Safety. Public safety is
District Attorney Kennedy's first priority. He has addressed this goal by aggressively and
successfully prosecuting serious and violent offenders. He has also been a leader in
innovative prevention and intervention programs that support long-term approaches to
maintaining a safe community.
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| Low Crime Rate. Santa Clara County
has the lowest crime rate among California’s largest counties and among the lowest
nationwide for metropolitan areas, and the crime rate here is falling. (Source:Legislative
Analyst's Office) Kennedy's policies of aggressive prosecution, 3-strike convictions,
zero tolerance of gangs and hate crimes, and juvenile accountability have contributed to
creating this positive local environment.
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| High Felony Convictions. Santa
Clara County has the highest rate of felony convictions as a percentage of felony arrests
in California. (Source: California Department of Justice, http://caag.state.ca.us) Moreover, the office wins most
major cases. Of charged felonies, 98% of offenders are convicted. (Source: Criminal
Justice Information Control (CJIC))
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| Juvenile Crime. Kennedy
realizes that programs and opportunities for youth must be
supplemented by accountability and protection from dangerous youth. Juveniles unfit
for juvenile court are treated as adults and tried in adult courts by his office, and laws
expanding that procedure came from his office. At the same time, he helped establish such
programs as youth courts, Youth Drug Treatment Court, truancy mediation, and law-related
education. There are future-oriented solutions in addition to reform of the juvenile
justice system. (Preventing Crime, Saving Children: Sticking
to the Basics by John J. DiIulio, Jr.
Princeton University. Address to the National District Attorneys Association July 14, 1997)
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| Child Support. Recognizing that
unpaid support affects children immediately by negatively impacting their basic needs and
that it will also affect their future response to society, Kennedy has driven child
support collections to a rate 250% of that when he took office, prosecuting parents who
refuse to support their children. Collections are now among the best in the state. The
District Attorney currently collects approximately $270,000 per day for Santa Clara County
children from their parents who are absent from the home. http://www.childsup.cahwnet.gov/santacl.htm
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| Victim Services. Kennedy expanded
services related to the Victim Witness Assistance Program which aids crime victims in
collecting for unreimbursed medical expenses and lost income. The program also provides
guidance on court processes and on other available resources. A Victim's Rights' Handbook,
developed by Kennedy's staff, is being distributed to all California prosecutors as a
reference. His leadership led to the establishment of an automated victim notification
service. He helped enact legislation which can be used to freeze defendants' assets so
they will be available for victim restitution.
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| Welfare Fraud. Accepting George
Kennedy's persuasive argument that enhanced enforcement would result, the County Board of
Supervisors moved responsibility for Welfare Fraud investigation to his office from the
Department of Social Services in 1993. The District Attorney’s early detection
program has saved taxpayers approximately 12 million dollars.
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| High-Tech Crime. During Kennedy's
term as District Attorney, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office has clearly
established its leadership position in prosecuting high-technology criminal cases. Most
such cases are prosecuted by his office. These complex cases in a new and ever-changing
environment are setting precedents nationwide. Working with Silicon Valley legislators,
Kennedy's office has written most new California statutes dealing with theft of technology
and high-technology products. A film based partially on the work of his
high-technology-crime staff won the prestigious CINDY award in 1997.
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| Sexual Offenders. Aware that a
majority of rapists and other sexual offenders repeat a pattern of predation, Kennedy was
instrumental in establishing the SAFE Task Force to closely monitor such offenders to
facilitate arrest and prosecution when they violate terms of probation and parole. The
Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office is the only such office in the State that
has a specialized unit handling violations of the sex registration laws. Over 100
convicted sex offenders are charged with felony violations of Penal Code Section 290 every
year for failing to properly report their whereabouts. Over 95% of these offenders are
convicted and receive prison terms or substantial jail sentences. Six of these predators
have been sentenced to twenty-five-years-to-life under the 3-strikes law for not properly
registering. Since these programs were implemented in 1995, the number of felony sex crime
filings in Santa Clara County has decreased by over 20%.
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| Gangs. Gangs have not proliferated
in Santa Clara County as they have in other urban areas. Kennedy’s vigorous
prosecutions such as the recent successful effort against Nuestra Familia, have sent a
clear message of no tolerance in our community.
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| Domestic Violence. As part of his
effort to assure appropriate treatment for victims of domestic violence, Kennedy
established a specialized unit staffed by highly trained and committed prosecutors. He
co-founded and is past chairperson of the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council, a
model of interagency coordination and collaboration. The efforts of his administration
have won many awards and have been recognized and copied throughout the United States. (San
Francisco Chronicle, p.P2, May 16, 1997; San Jose Mercury News, p.1B, August 20, 1997;
Gilroy Dispatch, p.A1, February 13, 1997)
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| Truancy. Kennedy believes that
education of all children will impact the root causes of crime. He also believes that lack
of supervision led some juveniles into delinquency today. Working with school, city and
county offices, Kennedy was central in establishing an effective truancy program. As a
result, school attendance has improved and certain juvenile crimes have declined.
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| Hate Crimes. District Attorney
Kennedy demonstrated his dedication to safeguarding the rights of all persons by
establishing a hate crimes unit. This unit is focused on obtaining the highest possible
sanction for offenders who perform acts of violence, harassment, property damage or
intimidation against individuals based on an identified personal characteristic or
affiliation. Santa Clara County DA's office has achieved California's highest
conviction rate in these difficult-to-prosecute crimes. (Source: California Attorney
General)
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| Child and Elder Abuse. To better
protect more vulnerable members of our community, Kennedy established child and elder
abuse specialties within his office. The child abuse prosecutions are used as training
models throughout the state, while the National District Attorneys Association uses the
successful approaches of his elder financial abuse unit in its training programs which are
available to district attorney staff throughout the United States.
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| Statutory Rape. Out of concern for
the County's youth, District Attorney Kennedy established a statutory rape unit focusing
on those adults who prey on underage victims. He has contributed to a cultural change in
that statutory rape is again recognized as a crime and is taken seriously here. (San
Francisco Daily Journal, p.1, March 4, 1998)
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| Environmental Prosecution.
Environmental issues and impacts do not recognize jurisdictional boundaries. As President
of the California District Attorneys Association, Kennedy has helped establish the
Environmental Circuit Prosecutors Project. These prosecutors undertake environmental
enforcement in small counties that do not have the resources to prosecute cases related to
air and water contamination, wildlife biology and illegal garbage dumping. (S.J. Mercury
News, March 14, 1998) He increased his local environmental staff by 50% after taking
office, and they are at the top of their profession. His establishing the Leo Himmelsbach
Environmental Training Fund with fines from polluters is an example of how he has caused
training for all types of environmental services persons, including sewer workers who can
utilize sophisticated technology to locate sources of unlawfully discharged matter
upstream.
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| Children of the Court. District
Attorney Kennedy dramatically expanded representation of dependent children of the court,
acting as their advocate when decisions are being made about safe and beneficial
placement. Kennedy's experience in prosecuting the most violent criminals taught him the
importance of investigating potential home situations.
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| Multidisciplinary Interview Center.
Abused children historically were subjected to repeated reliving of their trauma through a
series of necessary but redundant interviews by police, social workers and others
interested in determining the facts of their abuse. When Kennedy became District Attorney
he took an idea that had been circulating and made it happen. Now through a coordinated
approach to interviewing, the young victim is spared repetitive interviews.
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| Drug Treatment. Reacting to abuses
and lack of supervision of "halfway houses" that were intended to treat
substance abusers, in 1997 Kennedy initiated a first-of-its-kind program to certify local
drug and alcohol treatment facilities before referrals can be made by the courts. (S.F.
Daily Journal, March 18, 1998)
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| Old Homicides. In
connection with hiring several outstanding retired police detectives as D.A.
investigators, Kennedy's office has reviewed old, unsolved homicides in Santa Clara County
to ascertain changed circumstances and potential for application of modern criminalistics.
As a result, persons who thought they had gotten away with murder have been successfully
apprehended and prosecuted.
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| Attracts the brightest and best Attorneys.
Under the leadership of George Kennedy, the reputation of the Santa Clara County District
Attorney's Office for excellence and for innovation has risen to attract the best
graduates from the nation's best law schools including Stanford, Harvard, and Yale.
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| Works well with other law enforcement
agencies. District Attorney Kennedy has established strong working relationships
with other members of law enforcement. He has been invited to participate as a full member
of, and has been endorsed by, the Santa Clara County Police Chiefs Association. He is also
well respected by the rank and file as evidenced by endorsements from the San Jose Police
Officers Association, Santa Clara County Deputy Sheriffs' Association, and PORAC.
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| Is widely recognized as a leader in criminal
justice. Kennedy is currently the President of the California District Attorneys
Association and a Director of the National District Attorneys Association. He also is a
leader in such local groups as the Domestic Violence Council, the (San Jose) Mayor's Gang
Task Force, and the SB 438 High-Technology Crime Task Force. He was appointed by the
Governor as Commissioner on Peace Officer Standards and Training 1993-1996. In addition to
his law enforcement endorsements, he is endorsed by both labor (COPE) and the Chamber of
Commerce (COMPAC).
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Last Revision 30 Oct 2006; Hopwood Associates
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