Tori Verber Salazar
District Attorney
Tori Verber
Salazar has been a major force in San Joaquin County’s District Attorney
Office. She rose through the ranks prosecuting gang related homicides to become
the first woman District Attorney elected to the office in 2015. She has since
instituted sweeping reform and innovation in prosecution for the County, which
supports a population of over 730,000 residents. In her capacity, she oversees
a budget of $42 Million and a team of over 280 employees who work for the DA
office.
Through her
leadership, Verber Salazar has implemented office-wide changes including
expansion of Victim-Witness services, establishment of the Family Justice
Center (expanding services into multiple cities within the county), and creation of
the first Political Integrity Unit dedicated to prosecution of corruption cases - which has led to the successful prosecution of elected or appointed officials
for misuse of the public trust.
She is a leader in
restoring justice through Proposition 47 and 64. She has addressed the racial
inequities in the past implementation of the criminal justice system and has
worked to restore trust in our community by apologizing and accepting
responsibility. She has worked collaboratively with the community to re-store
trust and accountability.
Verber Salazar is
recognized as a leader in the national dialogue in regards to Officer Involved
Critical Incidents. Through her innovation, many Counties across the Country
look to her policies and practices. She has conducted extensive work with the Stanford
School of Law in pioneering substantive changes as to how officer involved
fatalities are investigated and prosecuted. This unique partnership initiated
an open dialog with the communities she serves and has been transformative for
San Joaquin County.
She is an
executive member of the Community Correction Partnership overseeing the
management and implementation of a $22 million dollar allocation across the
county as required by AB-109, a public safety re-alignment program that shifts
criminal justice responsibilities for certain offenders from the state prisons
to local county sheriffs, probation departments and superior courts.
Her dedication to
the community has long multi-generational roots -- she
carries that legacy through a myriad of community engagement programs. She was
the Founder of the Empowering Young Women program that developed educational
forums on date rape and domestic violence for high school girls and boys. She
serves as an active member of the Ready to Work Program, a residential program
for the homeless and previously incarcerated members of the county.
She is co-creator
of The Beyond Incarceration Program allowing young students to speak with
inmates at prisons providing them with honest and real life insights of life
behind bars. She is actively engaged with numerous community leaders in
addressing the plight of the homeless and mentally ill in developing support
systems that improves the quality of life of the growing homeless population in
San Joaquin County.
The office was
recipient of the 2015-16 Outstanding Law Enforcement Agency presented by the
United States Attorney Eastern Division of California. The National Institute
for Innovation in Community Law Enforcement selected the office as a member of
the Executive Committee on Innovation in Prosecution and Fair and Just
Prosecution.
She is married and
has three children.