Crime Fighter

The City Attorney's Criminal Division prosecutes criminal misdemeanors committed within the City of San Diego through five units: the General Trial Unit, the Special Prosecutions Unit, the Domestic Violence & Sex Crimes Unit, the Case Issuance Unit, and the Appellate Unit. The Community Justice Division also prosecutes quality of life cases and manages the Community Justice Initiative and collaborative courts program. Mothers Against Drunk Driving recognized two of our prosecutors in 2023: Chief Deputy City Attorney Kristen Fossler, head of the Case Issuance Unit, and Deputy City Attorney Ryan Harris, a member of the office's DUI prosecution team. Fossler was honored as Victim Advocate of the Year for her work with Chief Deputy City Attorney Sam Park to raise the amount of bail for DUI defendants for the first time in at least 17 years, while Harris was named MADD Prosecutor of the Year for his work handling 124 DUI cases in 2022 alone.

2023 Crime Prevention Impact

Hate Crimes

The City Attorney's Office works with state and federal agencies to ensure that people who commit hate crimes are prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and participates in the San Diego Regional Hate Crimes Coalition, which helps law enforcement organizations collaborate with community-based organizations to combat hate. Our office has prosecuted dozens of hate crime cases in recent years under the Special Prosecutions Unit, and continued our efforts in 2023, starting with a conviction in January against a man who had threatened and attacked staff, hurled slurs, and drew a swastika on the window of the Crest Crest Café in Hillcrest, followed by a conviction in April against a man who had berated a disabled victim in a wheelchair at a 7-Eleven in East Village.

By the Numbers