The recent 2024 election results in California have left many observers astounded.
The citizens of the Golden State, in a surprising turn of events, denied progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascn, who was supported by billionaire George Soros, another term in office.
According to Fox News, the Californians also cast their votes overwhelmingly in favor of Proposition 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act. This act aims to reverse certain aspects of Proposition 47 from 2014 by escalating penalties for specific crimes. The proposition, which came into effect on December 18, will permit felony charges to be leveled against those found in possession of certain drugs and those who commit thefts under $950. Furthermore, individuals accused of these crimes could face extended jail time.
The essence of this ballot measure is to clamp down on certain minor felonies that would have been classified as misdemeanors and either unpunished or lightly punished under Proposition 47. When Proposition 47 was passed in 2014, it reclassified most thefts from felonies to misdemeanors if the stolen amount was under $950, except in cases where the defendant had prior convictions of murder, rape, certain sex offenses, or certain gun crimes.
The measure has been criticized by progressives as being racially biased. The ACLU of Northern California, in a press release, described Proposition 47 as "part of a broader conservative strategy in California and across the nation to roll back criminal justice reforms aimed at interrupting the cycle of mass incarceration of Black and Brown people."
However, others believe that the new bill will bring about positive change in the state, particularly in areas that have been struggling with violent crime for years. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco stated that Proposition 36 is "definitely going to make things better" in California. He believes that the proposition will help address three significant issues in California: drugs, homelessness, and theft.
"Being safe is not a Republican or a Democrat issue. Being safe is a human issue," Bianco told Fox News Digital. "Being safe is an American issue. We have a lot of freedoms in this country. We're the greatest country in the world. And with that comes a big responsibility of keeping the people that are going to victimize us out of our free society."
Bianco believes that Californians are "tired" of public safety laws not doing enough to protect the state's residents and businesses from crime and homelessness, which is why he thinks Proposition 36 received vast support among state voters.
"We can now force people into rehab, or they're going to do jail time. So with that, we know that the majority of our homeless problem is drug addiction. Drug-addicted psychosis causes this mental illness that leads to most of the people that we deal with in the homeless crisis," Bianco explained.
He further stated that seventy percent of people in the state who voted for Proposition 36 want individuals who commit crimes to be held accountable. "If you have a child and you discipline that child to stop them from doing things, they stop doing it," Bianco said. "You raise productive kids. It's not different with juveniles or adults, when they repeatedly get away with things, human nature is: You push the limit."
Bob Larkin, vice president of retail customers at security firm Allied Universal, expressed his belief that the passage of Proposition 36 "should have a much needed positive impact on the safety of both residents and businesses in these cities as well as the entire state."
"Over the past decade, California has encountered a number of challenges, including increases in crime and substance abuse, which have affected safety and the quality of life," Larkin said. "As the largest security company in the world, with approximately 800,000 employees, including 57,000 employees in the state, Allied Universal team members at customer sites observe the realities of crime in California every day."
Larkin believes that Proposition 36 will assist businesses and communities by providing them with "effective tools to hold individuals accountable."
"Supporters of the measure worked with major businesses and organizations that all wanted to effectively improve community safety. Allied Universal was a supporter of the proposition," Larkin said, adding his belief that California residents "overwhelmingly approved the measure because they were seeing their communities and all businesses statewide severely impacted by the crime crisis that grew exponentially over the last several years."
"This measure was needed to help improve the safety of employees, businesses and communities in California."
However, Julia Jayne, a California-based criminal defense attorney from the Julia Jayne Law Group, expressed her concern that Proposition 36 means "defense attorneys will have to work harder to keep clients out of jail and prison in instances where that might not be the best solution."
"I think it reflects a shift in California overall, where district attorneys have been recalled and where citizens are voting for harsher penalties for criminal conduct," Jayne said. "The post-COVID years left many citizens with the feeling that crime was getting out of control, whether or not the actual data and statistics currently support that conclusion."
She also expressed her concern that the increase in felony charges will likely increase the prison population, and it's "unclear" to her whether the measure will have a positive impact on California residents long term.
Zack Seyun, founder and CEO of Cartha AI, an L.A.-based mental health platform, shared that the passage of Proposition 36 hit close to home for him, both professionally and personally.
"As a business owner in the mental health space in Los Angeles, I am profoundly affected by California's approach to crimes that concern the business sector, as well as the well-being of our communitieslike retail theft and drug-related offenses," Seyun said in a statement. "These are challenges I face in my business because they undermine the safety and security that my patients need to have the kinds of mental health conversations that will allow them to thrive again."
But Seyun also warned that the proposition will have "complicated effects." On one hand, it may bring "a necessary, common-sense return to punishing thieves and some drug users more harshlyespecially since what's being reversed here are the reforms from the supposedly reformative Prop 47 of 2014," Seyun said.
On the other hand, Seyun expressed his concern about the impact the new measure will have on incarceration rates in California, which are already high.
"I favor anything that will help reduce crime, but I also worry about the kind of society we are building. Higher prison populations can lead to overcrowding," he said. "We can't keep a certain number of individuals above ground in a certain amount of space without a serious potentially toxic allocation of local resources the kind of allocation that redirects funds from essential community services straight to the penal institution."
The business executive noted that the overwhelming support for Proposition 36 from voters "speaks to the abundant public sentiment around crime and the perceived lack of adequate safety measures."
"Ive discussed the issue with storefront acquaintances whove had the same unfortunate brush with criminality that I have. When you get right down to it, business in the state feels vulnerable. Meeting that vulnerability with a sense of law is what Proposition 36 is all about," Seyun said.
The passage of Proposition 36, therefore, represents a significant shift in Californian public sentiment. It reflects a growing desire for stricter penalties for criminal conduct and a more robust approach to public safety. However, it also raises questions about the potential impact on the state's prison population and the broader implications for society. As California grapples with these complex issues, the debate over the best approach to crime and public safety continues.
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