New "criminal justice reform" laws imposed by progressive California officials are spiking criminal acts in the Sunshine State, El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson revealed.
In an interview on EpochTV's California Insider program, Pierson alleged that state legislations such as Proposition 47 and Proposition 57 allow many criminal activities - especially shoplifting - to go unpunished:
We have this increased lawlessness that comes from the perception that I can take other people's property because nothing will happen to me.
Piersen notes that some stores have also stopped reporting thefts because the police "can't do much." In addition, the propositions protect offenders to such an extent that a suspect has the right to sue a store if the store owner tries to defend his employees from the offender. According to the prosecutor:
The practical reality is that most retailers have learned that if they call law enforcement for a theft of less than $950, either law enforcement will not respond, or if they respond at all, what they will do is issue a subpoena to appear in court. The stores and their insurance companies are really afraid of being sued for trying to stop a crime that has few or no consequences...
Laws that benefit criminals
Proposition 47 is a law approved by voters in 2014. It lowered the penalties for crimes that were considered "serious" to "misdemeanors" in the categories of certain thefts and illegal acts related to drugs. Among the most criticized regulations of the law are:
- Raise the minimum amount of stolen property from $400 to $950 for a theft case to be classified as a felony.
- Offenders who are serving prison sentences are allowed to apply for resentencing according to new classifications in the law.
- Offenders who have already served their sentences may reclassify their prior convictions as misdemeanors.
- Most theft suspects are not required to appear in court, so there are little or no consequences.
Proposition 57, also called "the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act" was passed in 2016, and allows some offenders classified as "non-violent" to be released before completing their sentences, in addition other regulations in the proposition include:
- Prohibiting prosecutors from charging juveniles as adults without a judge's approval.
- Allowing persons who were tried as adults for crimes committed when they were minors to appeal their sentences.
Eliminating cash bail for some defendants was an "emergency" measure implemented by the California Judicial Council in an effort to reduce the prison population during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Although the statewide zero bail order expired in June of the same year, courts still must consider each defendant's ability to pay when setting bail amounts.
Increase in robberies
An analysis conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California revealed how the implementation of Proposition 47 affected property crime, as thefts of personal property increased by 9% from 2014 to 2016.
With respect to the consequences of Proposition 57, the institute also reported an increase in the number of violent and property crimes last year in four of the state's largest cities: Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego and San Francisco.
