"I've spent many years fighting to end wealth-based detention. I think it puts public safety at risk by allowing wealthy people who are dangerous to buy their freedom, and it also undermines the integrity of the criminal justice system by allowing us to detain people who present no public safety risk simply because of their poverty," he said.

"My office is well aware of my views on that. And my assistant district attorneys are waiting patiently for us to give them a clear written guideline," he added.

Boudin, who made waves last week when he fired seven top prosecutors in the District Attorney's Office, also defended that decision in his interview with KQED. He said it's common for a new executive to make major personnel changes.

"It's certainly true in the Police Department, the Mayor's Office, all the way up to the president of the United States. It would be shocking, frankly, for a newly elected or appointed official not to make changes in their command staff," he said.

Boudin said he's "excited to be able to continue building a team that shares the vision the voters elected me to implement," and he doesn't believe the staff changes will hurt morale in the office.