Proposition 36, a tough-on-crime measure that will appear on the California ballot in November, would increase prison sentences for certain drug and property crimes, rolling back some of the criminal justice reforms approved by voters a decade ago.
Proposition 47, a 2014 measure that changed some low-level crimes like drug possession and petty theft to misdemeanors, reduced the prison population and recidivism rate without increasing violent crime. So why do Prop 36’s backers want to gut it?
Mike Gatto, a former California assemblymember who supports Prop 36, joined KNX News’ daily political show Countdown 2024 on Thursday. He said the measure has garnered support because people understand that “the cost to the taxpayer and to society are much higher now than they would be under Prop 36.”
Listen here:
“The taxpayer pays to send a paramedic to the latest overdose victim,” he said. “The consumer pays extra for common goods when stores are dealing with rampant retail theft. People have higher insurance premiums because of all the crime that's going on.”
But Shervin Aazami, policy manager at the nonprofit Initiate Justice Action, pointed out that on top of increasing the prison population – which doesn’t deter crime – Prop 36 would strip funding generated by Prop 47 for programs that actually make communities safer, like mental health and substance use treatment, reentry programs, and programs for at-risk youth.
“Proposition [47] legally required that all of the cost savings our state generated by virtue of not sending someone with a substance use disorder to prison, by virtue of not sending someone to prison for stealing a loaf of bread, would be reinvested in the community,” he said. “It's generated close to a billion dollars in savings over the past decade.”
Aazami added that Prop 36 has nothing to do with smash-and-grab robberies or home invasions, which are already felonies. He noted that the measure’s top backers are retail giants like Walmart, Home Depot, and Target that posted record profits during the recent organized retail theft panic.
“The language in Prop 36 is clear: it's about shoplifting, it's about petty theft, and it's about drug possession for personal use,” he said.
In response, Gatto accused Aazami of “gaslighting.” He further claimed that the reason why crime statistics haven’t gone up since Prop 47 passed is that police aren’t bothering to respond to calls and arrest criminals “because it’s a waste of time because of Prop 47.”
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Listen to the full episode above for more, and catch new episodes of Countdown 2024 live at 2:30 p.m. every weekday through Election Day.
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