Cynthia Zimmer
Kern County District Attorney
Now I know how many of you like "war stories", so I’ll tell one. I was a young street police officer working night shift on the Eastside interdicting street sales of narcotics when I first saw this very young woman ride up in a patrol vehicle. She was doing a ride-a-long with a BPD officer that night. Of course, it was bright-eyed rookie Deputy District Attorney “Cindy” Zimmer. She was cutting her teeth as to what we did on the streets. That’s when I first met her; since that time in the Roaring 80s, “Cindy” developed into an outstanding Deputy District Attorney, and is now the Chief Administrator of the that organization. It was an honor to have her as our speaker.
Cynthia Zimmer spoke with confidence and authority about her vision was for the district attorney’s office and where she is deploying her deputies to impact the growing concern for violent crime in Kern County. Often times, Zimmer states, we do not adequately consider the communities outside of Bakersfield which her office is also responsible for protecting. For that reason Zimmer has shifted experienced deputy district attorneys to these areas as part of her Rural Crime Division. For example, there are eight homicides per 100,000 residents in Bakersfield and 11 homicides per 100,000 residents in our county's rural communities, such as Delano, and eastern Kern. With 70% of all violent crime being carried out by organized criminal street gangs, it is certainly a “fire alarm” of concern that has her full attention. Her response to the horrendous violent crime numbers is to prosecute quickly and frequently.
Cold case crime, as dramatized on television, is not just for reality TV shows. Zimmer is seeing some positive results first-hand. She has a team of Deputy District Attorneys (DA’s) positioned to prosecute cold cases. Did you know that 50% of all homicide cases go unsolved? Yikes! Consider the pain for those caught in the crossfire…families. For that reason, Zimmer is relying on technology as one of the responses to securing apprehension of violators. One of those technologies is called “Shot Spotter”. Secretly located in neighborhoods of high violence, the Shot Spotter is activated when gun shots are detected. It’s similar to an alarm system in that it sends a signal for immediate dispatch of police to the location of the gun discharge. Personally, I have experience dealing with homicides. The unsolved ones are very sad for all involved.
Zimmer is attacking domestic violence from her office as this form of crime may manifest itself into a more aggravated assault. She is attempting to create a positive atmosphere for crime victims to encourage them to come forward and report these crimes. The reasons that they do not are many.
In conclusion, Zimmer is not only up against criminals, she is also trying to get the word out about the political process associated with legislation around crimes. Yes, the political process in which as she states, we have a role. Zimmer said if we want to impact crime, homelessness, and repeat drug offenders, we as a voting public must exercise our voting rights when the California Legislature proposes new laws that are counter-productive to a safe community. Zimmer said when any crime or punishment State propositions appear on the ballot, “Read it!”
Zimmer said, “She has the best job in the world”. I say, I am glad you are doing it Cindy! We thank you for all you are doing. You have a very difficult job.