Pamela Price has declined to talk about her biggest decisions, citing confidentiality around pending investigations and personnel matters.

In the month since Pamela Price took charge as Alameda County's new district attorney, she has put a half-dozen of the office's most experienced prosecutors on leave and fired its top two investigators, dismissed special circumstances in a high-profile murder case and created a funereal atmosphere for many employees, numerous sources familiar with the situation told The Berkeley Scanner in recent weeks.

Nearly three weeks ago, in an internal memo about staffing changes and what Price called "our transition to a new season," she directed employees not to speak with the media about any personnel matters including transfers and leaves.

That directive had a chilling effect: Multiple people say they are now worried about ongoing efforts to track down office leaks. The Scanner has granted anonymity to all sources related to this story in response to dee p concerns about potential workplace retribution.

"They’re just trying to silence everybody," one person said.