Californians have already begun voting, with mail-in ballots sent out last week. One ballot measure, Proposition 36, reclassifies certain drug and theft crimes from misdemeanor to felonies. The citizen-initiated ballot measure would also mandate treatment for some felony drug offenses.
The measure seeks to undo some of the damage from 2014’s Proposition 47, which reduced “the classification of most nonviolent property and drug crimes, including theft and fraud for amounts not over $950, from a felony to a misdemeanor,” unless the defendant had a prior conviction for more serious crimes like murder or rape.
Proposition 47 also allowed those convicted of what was previously a felony to be resentenced, and it created a “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Funds” from state savings from trial and prison costs.
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) spent a year studying the effects of Proposition 47 as it approached its 10th anniversary.
PPIC found that the creation of the “misdemeanor shoplifting category” – for shoplifting crimes of $950 or less – led to decreases in incarceration and enforcement. The organization’s policy briefing states:
Some property crime went up as incarceration and larceny clearance rates went down after California implemented Prop 47 changes and adapted to the pandemic.
Clearance rates refer to crimes that lead to arrest and referral for prosecution – in other words, solved crimes – and signal the likelihood of apprehension.
The group notes that there are other factors that affected public safety – like “a 2009 federal court order to reduce prison overcrowding” and the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Prop 47 reduced jail and prison populations, but at what cost? PPIC says it “pushed up both auto thefts and car break-ins by close to 4 percent.”
PPIC also notes the effects of the COVID pandemic on crime, saying:
Post-pandemic, cleared property crime [arrest and referral for prosecution] dropped further, to 7 percent—signaling that a person is half as likely to be apprehended for property crime today than in 2014. Fewer larcenies were cleared, leading to more car accessory thefts (7.3%) and car break-ins (3.9%). Moreover, the falling rate of solved burglaries drove up commercial burglaries (3.2%).
Other factors in the lack of arrests and referrals for prosecution include the state’s efforts to “reform” both policing and the political justice system. In California in 2022, PPIC reports, “The number of patrol officers per 100,000 is at its lowest point since at least 1991, while the total number of sworn officers per 100,000 residents is at the lowest level since 1994.”
Part of the decrease in arrests and prosecutions also came from George Soros, who spent millions electing progressive district attorneys in a number of states, including California. Some of those district attorneys were removed after crime rates went up in their jurisdictions, but many remain in office.
In 2019, then Attorney General William Barr told Fox News:
George Soros has been coming in, in largely Democratic primaries where there has not been much voter turnout and putting in a lot of money to elect people who are not very supportive of law enforcement and don’t view the office as bringing to trial and prosecuting criminals but pursuing other social agendas.
“Pursuing other social agendas” leads to less reporting of crimes and fewer arrests and prosecutions.
As shoplifting became less of a priority for prosecutors and law enforcement, media outlets reported on “smash and grab thefts,” which led to store closures in major California cities.
Newsweek reported earlier this year:
The number of businesses announcing the full or partial closures of their stores in California due to crime continues to rise, with companies citing regular theft, property damage, robberies and car break-ins as threats to their employees and customers.
The outlet listed closures and reduced store hours due to crime in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles by prominent chains such as 7-11, Starbucks, Subway, Nordstrom, In-N-Out, Taco Bell, Macy’s – and more.
Proposition 36 supporters hope to change those trends. They’ve raised more than $11.7 million to support the initiative with major support from corporations like Walmart, Target and Home Depot, Ballotpedia reports.
Opponents have raised only $1.8 million. Organizations fighting Proposition 36 include the ACLU, Action for Safety and Justice, and the Anti-Recidivism coalition.
A September PPIC poll showed overwhelming support for the measure, with 71% saying the would vote for it.
Related articles and resources:
Are Riots and Crime the Result of George Soros’ ‘Quiet Overhaul of the U.S. Justice System’?
Citizens Turn Against Lax Drug Laws as Consequences of Drug Addiction Overwhelm Communities
Lower Penalties in California Lead to Rising Crime – Which Leads to Store Closures
Oregon Lawmakers Vote to Recriminalize Hard Drugs
Image from Getty.
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