When John Creuzot was sworn in as a young prosecutor in the 1980s, criminal justice was all about locking people up.

But on Tuesday morning, Dallas County's newly elected district attorney told his staff of prosecutors that they were joining a DA's office focused on finding alternatives to jailing people for petty crimes.

Creuzot, 61, swore in his staff of prosecutors and investigators at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Frank Crowley Courts Building.

John Creuzot is known for establishing one of the first drug courts in the state. (Shaban Athuman / Staff Photographer)

It was his first opportunity to meet with the entire office and share his plan to prosecute only violent criminals and seek alternatives for lesser offenses, including dismissing all first-time cases of possession of marijuana in small amounts.

"What I'm asking you to do by taking your oath here today is to join with me in another era of criminal justice reform," Creuzot said before the 272 prosecutors were sworn in.

The staff swore to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this state."

Creuzot took office at midnight, and his term lasts four years. Sheriff Marian Brown and a handful of new criminal judges also took office on New Year's Day.

Earlier Tuesday, Brown was sworn in by longtime Commissioner John Wiley Price, who leads county committees on the jail population and jail sanitation. She's the county's first black sheriff.

Brown was sworn in as interim sheriff a year ago after Lupe Valdez resigned to run for Texas governor.

The sheriff said she doesn't expect to make sweeping changes to the Sheriff's Department as she begins her term. She noted that the focus is on the jail passing its yearly state inspection in the next month or so.

But Creuzot promised a bigger shift in the DA's office, changing how prosecutors review and handle criminal cases.

The former judge is known for establishing one of the first drug courts in the state and says his work has helped reduce prison populations statewide. Creuzot told the prosecutors Tuesday that he wants to seek alternatives to just sending people to prison, saying that "costs too much."

"It's ineffective. It doesn't solve crime," Creuzot said of the "lock 'em up" approach.

1 / 3District Attorney John Creuzot (right) administers the oath of office to First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Brooks during a ceremony at the criminal courthouse on Tuesday.(Shaban Athuman / Staff Photographer) 2 / 3District Attorney John Creuzot cracks a few jokes Tuesday during a swearing-in ceremony at the Frank Crowley Courts Building.(Shaban Athuman / Staff Photographer) 3 / 3Commissioner John Wiley Price administers the oath of office to Sheriff Marian Brown on Tuesday.(Shaban Athuman / Staff Photographer)

The DA told prosecutors to expect to see memos detailing which cases his office won't prosecute.

"We will still prosecute the violent criminals. We will still keep our focus on keeping the community safe," he said. "But we will also take care not to make the community worse or an individual worse just because we've done that in the past."

Creuzot said too often the criminal justice system has penalized people of color and people living in poverty.

"Are we creating people with criminal records because they're poor?" he asked.

He called it "morally wrong" to keep sending poor people to jail.

Creuzot kept his remarks brief and at times cracked jokes about how he felt when he was first sworn in as a Dallas County prosecutor on New Year's Day in 1982.

"Who parked the limo downstairs?" Creuzot asked the laughing crowd.

"I have another question. Who parked in my spot?" he said to more laughter. "I'm not kidding. I thought, 'Damn!'"

Creuzot laughed and promised he wouldn't look up who it was.

The new DA also pledged to have an open-door policy and encouraged the prosecutors to come to him with any problems. And unlike past DAs who asked to be called "judge" because of their judicial background, Creuzot told the staff to call him whatever they're most comfortable with.

"This is not about ego," he said. "This is about all of us coming together."

From left: Judges Chika Anyiam of CDC 7, Raquel "Rocky" Jones of 203rd District Court and Lela Mays of 283rd District Court

New criminal judges in Dallas County:

Six criminal judges also took office for the first time or were installed in a new court Tuesday.

Chika Anyiam, Criminal District Court 7

Anyiam is a longtime defense attorney. Anyiam was an attorney in Nigeria. She has been licensed to practice law in Texas since 2007. The Democrat replaces a Republican appointee. This will be Anyiam's first judicial post.

Raquel "Rocky" Jones, 203rd District Court

Jones is a longtime prosecutor. She resigned as an assistant district attorney in Dallas to run for her first judicial post.

Lela Mays, 283rd District Court

Mays is a former magistrate judge who has been running a drug treatment court since 2007 — the same court once overseen by John Creuzot, the incoming district attorney. The Democrat takes over a bench previously filled by a Republican appointee.

From left: Judges Tina Yoo Clinton of Criminal District Court 1, Carmen White of County Criminal Court 8 and Etta Mullin of County Criminal Court 10

Tina Yoo Clinton, Criminal District Court 1

Clinton replaces Robert Burns, who was elected to the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals. Clinton served as the judge of County Criminal Court 8 since 2010 and previously served as a municipal judge.

Carmen White, County Criminal Court 8

White replaces Clinton. White previously worked as a chief prosecutor in the Dallas County district attorney's office overseeing child abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking and mental health cases.

Etta Mullin, County Criminal Court 10

Mullin has been on the bench since Judge Roberto Cañas stepped down in the fall. Mullin was unopposed in the November election after defeating Cañas in the Democratic primary. She was previously a misdemeanor judge and has been given a "public reprimand" by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Staff writer Julieta Chiquillo contributed to this report.

CORRECTION, 11:35 a.m., Jan. 2, 2019: An earlier version of this story said Sheriff Marian Brown was starting a four-year term. She was elected in November to finish Valdez's term through the end of 2020.