Some Background: In 2014, California voters passed Proposition 47, which reduced the punishment for more than one million offenders and allowed thousands of state prisoners to have their sentences reclassified as misdemeanors and they were immediately released from custody.
In a story by The Washington Post, police departments and prosecutors are now reminding the public of the “unintended effects†of Proposition 47 where robberies are up 23 percent in San Francisco, property theft is up 11 percent in Los Angeles and certain categories of crimes are also rising: 20 percent in Lake Tahoe, 36 percent in La Mirada, 22 percent in Chico and 68 percent in Desert Hot Springs.
While crime is on the rise, this week the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a major supporter of Prop. 47, released their own report, which lays the fault on law enforcement for their unwillingness to adjust to the state’s new criminal justice landscape.
So you might be asking yourself, what is this new criminal landscape that the ACLU wants law enforcement to adopt?
“The ACLU study found that some county jails are making room for low-level offenders, while others have chosen not to detain offenders charged with petty offenses.â€
Not detaining or arresting individuals who commit certain crimes.
In August, Riverside County District Attorney, Mike Hestrin, had this to say:
Under Prop. 47, numerous felony offenses became misdemeanors. These newly minted misdemeanors include possession of dangerous drugs, such heroin, cocaine and the date-rape drugs Rohypnol and Ketamine, and all thefts of less than $950 – including handguns.
What does this mean in real terms? Criminals can repeatedly victimize citizens and local businesses, possess stolen firearms and dangerous drugs and never see the inside of a jail cell. Instead, they receive the equivalent of a traffic ticket – even when they commit the same crime again and again.
Without the ability to punish offenders, criminals are incentivized to repeatedly victimize our communities, rendering our best rehabilitative efforts futile. Today, our drug courts are disappearing as more criminals, knowing they will be released from jail, refuse to enter comprehensive drug treatment and mental health programs.
With inadequate penalties, common sense tells us crime will increase.
It is our opinion that this law must be corrected and this issue is not the fault of law enforcement but of the individuals who continue to commit crimes.