‘Justice is expensive’: Santa Clara County DA warns budget cuts threaten public safety

A ROUTINE ADDRESS from Santa Clara County’s top prosecutor became a dark vision of potential injustice across Silicon Valley’s criminal landscape.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen — during his annual State of the Office speech on Tuesday — warned of threats to public safety as a $470 million county budget deficit will require his office to make “unprecedented” layoffs and department funding cuts. Rosen indicated services such as gun buybacks, collaborative mental health and drug courts and domestic violence services could be on the chopping block or severely affected.