Public Safety
Public Safety
With a 30-year commitment to public safety and justice, Lateefah brings unmatched experience and leadership to this race. Starting her career as a senior leader in the San Francisco’s District Attorney’s office, she served as the Chief of Reentry under then-District Attorney Kamala Harris, where she crafted the award-winning Back on Track program, reducing crime and recidivism through education and job training for nonviolent offenders. This model has been widely recognized and replicated as a national success in criminal justice reform.
Before her work in the District Attorney’s office with Kamala Harris, Lateefah led the Young Women’s Freedom Center, a beacon of hope for justice for young women. Through employment and empowerment programs, she helped create pathways out of the criminal justice system, reducing recidivism and changing lives. Her visionary leadership earned her the prestigious MacArthur 'Genius’ Award and she became the youngest woman ever to receive the award.
Lateefah’s public safety experience extends to her leadership on the BART Board of Directors, where she implemented progressive policing policies by launching the Progressive Policing and Community Engagement Bureau (PPCEB). This initiative, the first for a U.S. transit agency, in addition to its sworn officers, deploys non-sworn Transit Ambassadors and Crisis Intervention Specialists to provide welfare checks, handle Code of Conduct violations, and de-escalate situations. The PPCEB’s efforts have freed up sworn officers to respond to emergency calls faster—resulting in one of the region's fastest response times for tier 1 emergency calls, averaging just over 4 minutes.
Lateefah will champion legislation that closes loopholes in federal gun laws, stops the flow of illegal firearms into the community, and provides resources for mental health, addiction treatment, and programs geared towards preventing recidivism. Lateefah will advocate for investment in public safety measures in California’s 12th district, combining her track record of effective leadership with her vision for a safer, more just community.