As Prop. 47 wreaks havoc on California, we must remain vigilant against future threats
by George Hofstetter
If you want to know how the recent changes in California law affecting criminal law and sentencing is working-realignment, AB 109, Prop 47-ask a deputy sheriff who patrols the streets of the County of Los Angeles and its unincorporated cities.  We interact with citizens and crooks every day and can tell you what has happened---crooks are emboldened, crime is up, and the number of victims is rising.
 
Prop. 47 downgraded a host of serious felonies into misdemeanors, including all drug possession cases, repeated shoplifting, forging checks and, unbelievably, gun theft and possession of date-rape drugs. In the view of its proponents, the way to reduce crime is not to punish those who break the law, but instead lessen the punishment for the crime and then offer those who break the law services to "rehabilitate" them.  And, if those lawbreakers continue to break the law-well, they just need more services!
 
In a recent National Public Radio report, Huntington Beach Police Officer Brad Smith explained that he arrested a couple, who were living in their car, on suspicion of possessing heroin and stolen property a few weeks ago. Before Prop. 47, this would have been enough for felony charges. But these are now misdemeanors. "We booked them to our jail, and they were released before my partner and I finished our report," Smith told NPR.
 
Not surprisingly, narcotics arrests have plunged - nearly 50 percent in areas patrolled by our own Sheriff's Department and by the LAPD - because both law enforcement and addicts have jointly realized that there is no point in arresting somebody for possession of narcotics.  It's a waste of time and resources to process an arrest when nothing will occur at the end of the process.  . What is the point of arresting somebody who isn't interested in stopping their drug addiction, and who knows as well as law enforcement that a court cannot make him/her attend programs which would address and defeat their addiction?  Unfortunately, since most drug addicts steal from others to support their habit, they will remain on the street to commit theft offenses-and even if arrested for theft, again face virtually no sanctions as long as they keep the dollar value of their stolen property under $950.
 
In a Los Angeles Times op-ed called, "Thanks to Prop. 47, Californians are less safe than they were a year ago" Sheriff Jim McDonnell pointed out that   Prop. 47 has increased crime .  We have seen counties and cities throughout the state are suffering dramatic increases in crime.  . In the city of Los Angeles, violent crimes soared 20.6 percent, and property crimes rose 10.9 percent in the nine months of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014
 
What's the solution? Overturning Prop. 47 seems unlikely at this point. So we need to support efforts to address the most glaring of its myriad flaws. We also need to band together with other public safety agencies to defeat any future ideas to lessen punishment for breaking the law and reduce sentences of those currently imprisoned. As Marc Debbaudt President of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys said in a recent piece " Legislature should fix the Harmful Repercussions Created by Prop 47"   it's past time that the California Legislature fix some of the most glaring flaws of this voter-passed proposition.
 
As Marc pointed out in his piece, "Proposition 47 took away a critical asset to fight sex crimes when it reduced the penalty for possession of date-rape drugs to a misdemeanor.  The only reason to possess a date-rape drug is to commit rape. Why would you pass a law that allows possession of a drug that facilitates rape to go unpunished?"
 
Gov. Jerry Brown wants to get an initiative on the November 2016 ballot to relax mandatory prison sentences. ALADS is committed to working closely with other public safety organizations to fight this dangerous proposal, and we will update you regularly on our progress
 
George Hofstetter is President of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs. ALADS is the collective bargaining agent and represents more than 8,200 deputy sheriffs and district attorney investigators working in Los Angeles County.  George can be reached at ghofstetter@alads.org

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