Orange County Debates How California Should Address Street Crime

City officials crossed Orange County are publically showing enactment for a statewide measurement connected the November ballot dubbed Prop. 36 that aims to summation punishment connected definite cause and theft crimes and is expected to importantly summation costs for authorities prisons and courts.

It would besides make a caller tribunal process wherever radical charged with a cause possession transgression successful definite circumstances volition beryllium forced to spell to rehab oregon service jailhouse time.

If passed, immoderate of the changes volition undo a statewide measurement approved by California voters successful 2014 dubbed Prop. 47 – which turned petty theft and immoderate cause possession crimes into a misdemeanor.

Proponents similar the California District Attorneys Association, instrumentality enforcement groups, retailers including Target, Walmart and Home Depot and the California League of Cities accidental the measurement volition marque cities safer, incentivizes attraction implicit situation and combats the fentanyl crisis.

“The provisions of Prop. 36 are truly targeted towards those who person committed habitual, serial offenses,” said Connor Medina, Regional Public Affairs Manager for the OC part of the league.

“When the prime is betwixt doing a coordinated cause attraction programme and not going to jail, they would take not going to jail.”

Medina’s remarks came earlier officials successful Stanton narrowly voted past week successful favour of a solution supporting Prop. 36.

Critics of the measure, including Chispa, the Los Angeles Times editorial board and the American Civil Liberties Union accidental Prop. 36 volition implicit assemblage prisons, reignite the warfare connected drugs and discarded millions of payer dollars connected jails and prisons.

“This proposition volition rotation backmost years of advancement connected transgression justness betterment and person devastating impacts connected our astir susceptible communities, peculiarly communities of color,” said Bulmaro Vicente, argumentation and governmental manager for Chispa.

“Prop 36 volition instrumentality america backwards by reinstating harsh penalties and fueling wide incarceration without addressing the basal causes of crime, similar poverty, intelligence wellness and substance abuse.”

Vicente’s remarks came earlier a statement connected the merits of Prop. 36 kicked disconnected successful the bosom of the county, Santa Ana – location to OC’s largest stateless colonisation and whose constabulary section reported implicit 2,100 drug-related crimes past year.

The Prop. 36 Debate successful the Heart of The County

Police officers basal defender astatine Santa Ana City Hall June 18, 2020. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

On Sept. 17, Santa Ana officials narrowly voted 4-3 successful favour of a solution successful enactment of Prop. 36 conscionable months earlier the November election, erstwhile 4 metropolis assembly seats including the Mayor’s spot volition beryllium up for grabs.

Councilmember Johnathan Hernandez, Ben Vazquez and Jessie Lopez were the dissenting votes.

Mayor Valerie Amezcua, who is up for reelection, has received important run funds from the section constabulary national and worked arsenic a probation officer, said astatine the gathering that officials should nary longer crook a unsighted oculus to nationalist nudity, homelessness, crime, gangs and unfastened cause usage successful the city.

She besides said that those who request assistance tin get it done aggregate programs successful Santa Ana and the measurement is for the ones refusing to get help.

“Jail is not the answer. However, with Prop. 36 they’ll beryllium fixed an accidental to spell to a programme oregon jail,” she said. “This is astir making our metropolis a amended spot to unrecorded for the prime of beingness for our children and our families.”

Hernandez, who is besides up for reelection and worked arsenic a lawsuit manager helping reenter nine aft prison, said the measurement volition lone summation transgression justness costs.

“It is simply a misguided measurement that is going to stress punishment implicit prevention, that volition velocity up the process wherever radical volition autumn into the cracks of pack violence. They volition autumn into the cracks of addiction,” helium said.

“This is unluckily going to instrumentality Santa Ana backmost to the days of the 1990s wherever we had the highest pack shootings and overdoses.”

Councilman Phil Bacerra – who besides has received important run concern enactment from the section constabulary national – said thing needs to beryllium done astir transgression and cause abuse, adding it’s not a rollback to the warfare connected drugs but a mode to get radical help.

“If it’s a warfare connected drugs, arsenic in, to get radical disconnected of drugs I would enactment that and Prop. 36 is simply a mode to compel folks to get treatment. This is not conscionable simply sending radical to jail,” helium said.

“The folks that really reason these sorts of nationalist information measures. They’re the aforesaid folks that bash not suggest thing other to meaningfully alteration what’s going on.”

Santa Ana constabulary responding a constabulary telephone connected Bishop St. connected Dec. 7, 2020. Credit: FRANK VERA

Councilman David Penaloza – whose run besides received important enactment from Santa Ana’s constabulary national – said the assembly should prioritize seniors, kids and residents who person to look getting assaulted and robbed by criminals and aftermath up to “meth clouds.”

“Our residents are bushed of it. They telephone maine daily. ‘Why can’t the metropolis bash anything? Why are you guys ignoring this issue?’ We’re not ignoring it. Our hands are tied. There’s thing that we could bash presently to code this,” helium said.

Councilman Ben Vazquez, a precocious schoolhouse teacher and longtime assemblage activist who is moving for Mayor against Amezcua, said astatine the gathering the proposition is not conscionable astir fentanyl usage but different crimes successful a state that already has a precocious fig of radical incarcerated.

“It’s astir going backmost to the 90s and the 80s, wherever we saw wide incarceration happen,” helium said. “We took fathers and brothers and uncles and enactment them successful jail, wherever we could person been moving with them instead.”

Lopez, who works arsenic a community wellness worker, precocious survived a constabulary union-backed callback and is up for reelection, said portion she was researching the measurement she could not find information connected “how galore radical successful our county, successful our city, person been arrested, rearrested, and person not faced consequences for their actions.”

“I deliberation that should besides assistance pass the policies that we support,” she said.

What Will Prop. 36 Mean?

If approved, the ballot measurement would person petty theft from a misdemeanor to felony if the idiosyncratic has 2 oregon much erstwhile theft-related convictions similar car-jacking, shoplifting oregon burglary and beryllium punishable with up to 3 years successful a region jailhouse oregon authorities prison.

The measurement would lengthen felony sentences for theft oregon vandalism by 3 much years if 3 oregon much radical committed the transgression together.

And the measurement would necessitate felonies for selling drugs similar fentanyl, cocaine, heroin oregon meth beryllium served successful a authorities prison.

A constabulary enactment successful Orange County. Credit: OMAR SANCHEZ, Voice of OC

Beyond accrued punishment connected definite drug-related and theft crimes, Prop. 36 would let definite drug-related convictions to beryllium charged with mandated rehab alternatively of a misdemeanor.

This would use to cases wherever the idiosyncratic was convicted for possession of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin oregon meth and had 2 oregon much convictions for either possessing oregon selling drugs.

Those who decorativeness the mandated attraction would person their charges dismissed. Those who don’t could service up to 3 years successful a authorities prison.

Prop. 36 volition besides necessitate the courts to pass radical they could beryllium charged with execution if they’re convicted for selling oregon providing amerciable drugs to someone.

More OC City Officials Vote successful Support of Prop. 36

Santa Ana isn’t the lone 1 coming retired successful enactment of the Proposition.

Some OC cities are passing resolutions successful enactment of the measurement astatine the petition of the California League of Cities, who voiced their enactment for Prop. 36 successful July.

Fountain Valley officials are expected to ballot connected specified a solution contiguous astatine their 6 p.m. meeting.

Stanton officials voted 3-0 past week successful favour of a solution supporting Prop. 36. Councilmembers Hong Alyce Van and Donald Torres abstained from the vote.

Mayor David Shawver, who is the President of the OC part of the League of Cities, said astatine the gathering determination needs to beryllium accountability and a fearfulness of going backmost to jailhouse to halt repetition offenders from committing crimes.

“The citizens of our metropolis are sick and bushed of what’s going connected with fentanyl, section crime, prostitution, theft, and if we don’t clasp radical accountable, it’s going to proceed on,” helium said.

“If I’m a payer successful this metropolis and I’m paying taxes, the magnitude that we suffer from crime, the magnitude that we suffer from death, from fentanyl and the tragedies of families acold outweigh the outgo of what this programme is.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department services arsenic the section constabulary successful unincorporated areas of Orange County and thirteen cities: Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

Torres said it’s not casual to retrieve from cause addiction and it takes aggregate attempts.

“This is reminiscent of the 3 strikes instrumentality that we had successful the 1990s that was 1 of the highest transgression periods present successful the United States. I deliberation that it had agelong lasting effects, similar expanding recidivism,” helium said, recommending the assembly reconsider.

“Putting idiosyncratic successful a factual container isn’t going to assistance them get better, if anything, it would worsen their intelligence health.”

Westminster, Laguna Beach, Villa Park and Seal Beach leaders besides approved a akin solution astatine their meetings past week and Brea officials besides unanimously approved a solution astatine a gathering connected Sept. 17.

The Impacts of a Crackdown connected Drugs & Theft Crime successful California

According to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office, the measure, if approved, would apt summation California’s transgression justness costs by perchance up to hundreds of millions of dollars a twelvemonth due to the fact that it volition summation the authorities situation colonisation and the state’s tribunal workload.

They besides estimation Prop. 36 volition summation section transgression justness costs by tens of millions of dollars for akin reasons.

The analyst’s bureau says the argumentation would besides trim however overmuch the authorities has to walk connected truancy, dropout prevention, intelligence wellness and cause attraction and unfortunate services.

Chapman University students Ashley Kuckler, Nathan Palomares, Makenna Kunimura, Olivia Gluck, Samantha Wong & Zoe Eduskety contributed to the reporting successful this article.

Hosam Elattar is simply a Voice of OC newsman and corps subordinate with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him astatine [email protected] oregon connected Twitter @ElattarHosam.

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