In November of 2014, California voters approved Proposition 47 which provided significant changes to our criminal justice system. Many of the arrests made by our officers for crimes involving drug possession and theft of property were reclassified as misdemeanors instead of felonies. This had an immediate impact by shortening or even eliminating any time spent in custody by those arrested for these offenses. In simple terms, this legislation has allowed many people who have committed crimes to remain on the streets of California. They may face minor penalties, but they were not forced to spend time in jail or prison. While the law did state the need for increased drug rehabilitation, those efforts have not come to fruition.
While the impact of Proposition 47 at the time of its passage was yet to be seen, we were concerned with the potential outcome. However, now more than three full years from its implementation, we and many of our partners in law enforcement believe the passage of Proposition 47, has had a significant impact on crime rates. In 2014, the City of Brea had just realized a fourth straight year of declining crime. However, in 2015, one full year after the implementation of Proposition 47, the City experienced a 13% increase in overall crime. Similar increases were also realized in Orange County, regionally and state wide while crime rates fell in most of the nation. Crime continued to rise in Brea in 2016 and 2017 when we realized increases of 14% and 2% respectively or a total increase of 23% since the implementation of Proposition 47.
In an effort to help combat the effects of Proposition 47, Proposition 57 and Assembly Bill 109, the California Police Chiefs Association is supporting the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018. This initiative, if enacted, will mitigate a series of unintended consequences that have negatively impacted public safety in communities throughout California, including:
Violent Crime
• Expand the list of violent crimes for which early release is not an option.
• Under current law, rape of an unconscious person trafficking a child for sex, assault on a peace officer, felony domestic violence and other similar crimes are not classified as “violent felonies,” making criminals convicted of these crimes eligible for early release.
DNA Collection
• Reinstates DNA collection for certain crimes that were reduced to misdemeanors as part of Proposition 47.
• Multiple studies have shown that DNA collected from theft and drug crimes has helped solve other violent crimes, including robbery, rape and murder. Since the passage of Proposition 47, cold case DNA matches have dropped significantly.
Serial Theft
• Revises the theft threshold by adding a felony for serial theft; when a person is caught for the third time stealing property with a value of $250.00 or more.
• Proposition 47 changed the dollar amount threshold for theft to be considered a felony; from $450 to $950. As a result, there has been an explosion of serial theft and an inability of law enforcement to prosecute these crimes effectively. Theft in some jurisdictions has increased by 12% to 25%, with losses of a billion dollars since the law was passed.
Parole Violations:
• Requires the Board of Parole Hearings to consider an inmate’s entire criminal history when deciding parole eligibility, not just the most recent commitment offense; and requires a mandatory hearing to determine whether parole should be revoked for any parolee who violates the term of his parole for the third time.
• Assembly Bill 109 bases parole on the offender’s commitment offense, resulting in the release of inmates with serious and violent criminal histories. Moreover, parolees who repeatedly violate the terms of their parole currently face few consequences, allowing them to remain on the street. |