Three Years Ago, California Decided To Go Easy On Crime. The Results Of Their Experiment Are In.

I wasn't aware of this Proposition 47 in CA back in 2014. But it appears it has been detrimental to the quality of life in CA for everyone except criminals. It's easy to say "told you so" but really, what could they possibly have been thinking? And why did the voters approve it? There are so many things wrong with this proposition. It really is for me, all about the voters approving this. Even a child could deduce the outcome. But it does seem to prove the point that lack of fitting punishment encourages crime.

Updated August 7, 2017
Voters approved Proposition 47, which would loosen law enforcement standards on crime. At the time, it was believed that taking these measures wouldn’t have much impact on crime. Now, three years later, local law enforcement officials are pointing to that 2014 proposition approval as the reason for the drastic increase in crime in California.

Fox 11 Los Angeles reports that while arrests are down 30 percent since the new law, violent crime is up 40 percent in Los Angeles since Prop 47 went into effect, with many felony crimes downgraded to misdemeanors. That’s pretty significant. Estimates show that, specifically, the Inland Empire region in California went from 9th in the nation in vehicle thefts to 5th in just a year, from 2015 to 2016.

Riverside police Sgt. Sean Brown noted: “The punishment is very minimal. If nobody goes to jail for committing a crime, what’s to prevent them from committing more crimes?” Additionally, Ontario police Sgt. Jeff Higbee noted that the laws mean there is “little to no jail time associated with a single theft.”

California Assemblyman Matt Harper further explained that the rise in crime was correlated to the proposition, telling Fox News: “California is certainly having a significant problem with the increase of crime in our state.”

awm.com... article_d_5

'arrests are down 30 percent' since the new law, violent crime is up 40 percent

WHOA, shocking.

They could've saved that entire 3-year "experiment," and simply utilized common sense.

a reply to: Kromlech

Most of us who don't live in big cities suggested that same thing.
But most Californians do live in big cities.

a reply to: StoutBroux

If you are going to be a criminal then California is your state.

Easy on crime...check

Citizens unarmed...check.

No active death penalty...check

a reply to: StoutBroux


As prior posters have said, No Surprise. The outcome was exactly what you'd expect.

By the way, have enough signatures been gathered yet for California to get the hell out of the United States of America? Every time a GOOD initiative like that is started, the thing dies on the vine.

I wonder who's bright idea that was ?.... And I wouldn't be surprised if George soros had his hand in it too.

a reply to: Metallicus

You forgot protecting you from the Federal Government. Check.

a reply to: StoutBroux

It is like progressive leaders place bets with each other about who can get the dumbest laws past.

a reply to: StoutBroux

The quote you posted said that crime was down. It said that violent crime was up but then went on to talk about car theft. One area of the state went from 9th in the country to 5th in one year. That means nothing to me. What are the real #'s. Does that mean there were 5 more car thefts? 500? or 5,000?

Also, the rate of arrests are quite often based upon how much the law enforcement is motivated. When there is a contract dispute with the police watch how low the crime rates go.

Too late to read the full article but I'm assuming you quoted the part that was most important to your thesis. Are there complaints from the citizenry?

originally posted by: WUNK22
POST REMOVED BY STAFF

Liberalism is fine when dealing with law-abiding citizens; when it comes to recidivists, on the other hand... that's usually something that necessitates right-wing authoritarianism, especially when it's violent crimes.

a reply to: Kromlech

Don't be daft,don't you know that common sense is racist-xenophobic-oppressive-misogynistic-some other isms+istics+phobics-patriarchal tyranny

a reply to: TobyFlenderson

No, if you had bothered to read it. It said arrests were down 30% while violent crime was up 47%.

Add in all the criminals being released early from prison due to budget cuts, and this is what you get.

My ex is a special investigator for the District Attorney's office,this really sticks a thorn in their side,they spend time and effort to convict,idiot Brown lets them out,this pisses off the average taxpayer,because most are on public assistance,a bad joke played upon the taxpayers

A lot of people on ATS make the point that rising incarceration rates in the USA are bad. Some argue something must be the matter to have (by far) the largest prison population in the world. How can the USA have more prisoners than countries we view as considerably more oppressive and corrupt? Anyway yada yada...

The point here is Cali has had a go at changing the system. They've gone down the route (favoured by many ATSers) of making possession of drugs a slap on the wrist offence. Shoplifting isn't a straight-to-prison crime and its links to addiction are being addressed by rehabilitation instead of sentencing. They've tried to move 'victimless crime' to misdemeanour. On top of that, it's possible to appeal to have felonies reduced to misdemeanours once they've served their sentence. Obviously it's dependent on the nature of the crime. The upshot is not being defined as a felon for life over something stupid they did when young.

The savings they hoped to make by not sending someone to prison were funnelled into the community level with literacy programmes and schemes to help people out of poverty. These are the major factors that lead to crime.

Setting aside the right/left (Cali hates Trump etc) political BS, isn't it good to see some place trying to find a way to break the incarceration problem? If it's failed, at least they tried. The next thing is to cut their losses and find a different way or see what parts of Prop 47 worked and focus on them. Three years isn't long enough to change generational problems, but changing stuff every 3-4 years is a quick way to cause problems through confusion. Same in Europe where we switch systems every 3-4 years on political grounds.

a reply to: StoutBroux

What were they thinking you ask..................politicians don't have the brain capacity to form an intelligent thought.

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: TobyFlenderson

No, if you had bothered to read it. It said arrests were down 30% while violent crime was up 47%.

Add in all the criminals being released early from prison due to budget cuts, and this is what you get.

I suspect it was done so the Govt could claim falling arrest numbers and pretend all was well.

originally posted by: UKTruth

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: TobyFlenderson

No, if you had bothered to read it. It said arrests were down 30% while violent crime was up 47%.

Add in all the criminals being released early from prison due to budget cuts, and this is what you get.

I suspect it was done so the Govt could claim falling arrest numbers and pretend all was well.

Exactly, it has far less to do with finding a solution to the problem then it has to do with public perception.

a reply to: Kandinsky

People are taught and expected to take advantage of the system. Then the system loosens the penalties for taken advantage of the system? I don't want a society where people are ashamed to be on welfare. But I don't want a society where individuals brag about it either. And yes, I have been in bars where individuals gleefully brag about the government paying for food stamps or housing. The attitude of putting it to those poor saps that go to work.......

The government is to provide the frame work for a civil society through equal and blind enforcement of laws. Not provide a means to escape consequences of bad decisions that assault persons or private property. A system that encourages taking more from society than providing for family and community.