Newsom stiffens penalties for burglary and looting...to avoid a proposition that would make them even tougher

Hours after Governor Gavin Newsom initialed a legislative-package against crimes such as burglary and looting, two 7-Eleven stores in Hollywood were looted and vandalized by 20-something-year-olds on bicycles. Twenty minutes passed between one robbery and another. It is the third in eight days for the retail chain:

The new legislation, passed with bipartisan support, has this type of so-called "smash-and-grab" crime as one of its main targets. According to Newsom, it is "the most significant legislation to address property crime in modern California history." Analysts and critics, however, point out that it is nothing more than a smokescreen to subtract appeal from Proposition 36: a package of security measures that will be on the ballot in November.

"These newly passed legislative bills are half measures, failing to address the fundamental issues of habitual repeat theft, the fentanyl epidemic, and the ongoing homelessness crisis," asserted from the Yes on Proposition 36 campaign as soon as the bill was passed. "State leaders have had years to address California’s crime and drug crises, yet little has been done to tackle the root causes."

"The main purpose of these bills is to try and convince people not to vote for Prop 36," John Shu, a Golden State-based jurist, told The Washington Examiner. "It’s not because Governor Newsom really wants to do anything about high crime."

New security measures before the election would reduce the appeal of other measures with the same purpose, according to Shu. However, the expert said, both can work together to reduce crime.

The state's Democrats, Newsom included, tried to prevent Proposition 36 from reaching the ballot. Mismanaging this effort, the governor began campaigning to prevent it from reaching a majority vote of the citizenry: on Friday he said it would return the state to the 1980s drug war and lead to "mass incarceration."

A recent Berkeley IGS Poll, however, claims 56% of Californians support the initiative.

"Proposition 36 is the comprehensive and compassionate solution California needs," argued the campaign in favor of the measure. "It directly tackles these challenges with strong incentives for drug treatment, which will reduce homelessness and provide our communities and small businesses with the accountability and consequences necessary to curb repeat offenders."

The proposal seeks to revise part of another - Proposition 47 - passed a decade ago that lowered sentences with the intention of reducing the prison population. It promised, in addition, to offer rehabilitation to non-violent offenders.

"This is why Proposition 36 has strong bipartisan support — it is the real change California needs," they say in Yes on Proposition 36. In November, it will be known if the majority of Californians agree.