Trending
This summer, I had the privilege of touring the Orange County Sheriff Department’s jail facilities. The work they are doing to strike a balance between delivering heavy-handed justice towards criminals and providing rehabilitative programs for inmates was impressive. The programs being implemented by the Orange County sheriff, district attorney and probation departments are superb. I commend them for their efforts to reduce crime, provide consequences and help integrate those who are able – back into the community.
These programs are the blueprint the state should model when it comes to balancing rehabilitation and sentencing. As a state Assemblymember, I have spent the last two years speaking out about these issues in the Legislature. I have run bills to provide protections to victims of felony sex offenses, provide transparency about the early release of criminals and a policy to hold fentanyl dealers accountable. I have additionally introduced legislation dealing with Secure Youth Treatment Facilities. All of these bills have one thing in common: They died in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
Given the political make-up of the California Legislature, it is no surprise that we face an uphill battle to make the changes needed to reduce crime in our communities. This election cycle, however, I have good news. Californians have the opportunity to vote on a key ballot initiative, Proposition 36, that intends to rein in the chaos progressive policies have wreaked on our criminal justice system.
Specifically, Proposition 36 will reclassify several crimes back to felonies that were downgraded to misdemeanors by Proposition 47 in 2014.
A majority of California voters supported this initiative which was misleadingly titled the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act” by then-Attorney General Kamala Harris. It did a tremendous amount of damage to our state by downgrading a number of crimes from felonies to misdemeanors including shoplifting, grand theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, fraud and writing a bad check – as long as none of those crimes exceeded $950, and the use of most illicit drugs.
The good news is that Proposition 36 will address these concerns. It will increase the penalty for repeat shoplifters of $950 in value or less from a misdemeanor to a felony, punishable by up to three years in prison. Drug dealers will serve their sentences in prison, and to combat the rampant fentanyl epidemic, the proposition will require courts to warn convicted criminals that they could be charged with murder if they sell or provide illegal drugs that kill someone, and be charged with murder if they later sell or provide illegal drugs to someone who dies. This latter part is also known as Alexandra’s Law, which I attempted to place on the ballot through Assembly Constitutional Amendment 12.
It has been a decade since Proposition 47 passed, and voters see for themselves the serious consequences that weakened crime and sentencing laws have on our communities. Since its passage, property and retail theft have skyrocketed, with flash mobs becoming commonplace at shopping centers to steal goods. Since the vast majority of retail theft falls under $950, criminals know there are no consequences for stealing less than $950.
Importantly, Proposition 36 will ensure that criminals face consequences for their illegal actions against Californians. At the same time, it aims to create the classification of crime called “treatment-mandated felony.” Convicted criminals, who do not contest certain drug charges, could complete a drug treatment program instead of going to prison, but they would still face prison if they fail to complete their treatment.
Crime in California is out of control, and repealing the mistakes of Proposition 47 by passing Proposition 36 is just the beginning to bringing common sense law enforcement back to our communities.
Vote yes on Proposition 36 to protect your friends, family and local business owners.
Diane Dixon is a member of the California Assembly.
This summer, I had the privilege of touring the Orange County Sheriff Department’s jail facilities. The work they are doing to strike a balance between delivering heavy-handed justice towards criminals and providing rehabilitative programs for inmates was impressive. The programs being implemented by the Orange County sheriff, district attorney and probation departments are superb. I commend them for their efforts to reduce crime, provide consequences and help integrate those who are able – back into the community.
These programs are the blueprint the state should model when it comes to balancing rehabilitation and sentencing. As a state Assemblymember, I have spent the last two years speaking out about these issues in the Legislature. I have run bills to provide protections to victims of felony sex offenses, provide transparency about the early release of criminals and a policy to hold fentanyl dealers accountable. I have additionally introduced legislation dealing with Secure Youth Treatment Facilities. All of these bills have one thing in common: They died in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
Given the political make-up of the California Legislature, it is no surprise that we face an uphill battle to make the changes needed to reduce crime in our communities. This election cycle, however, I have good news. Californians have the opportunity to vote on a key ballot initiative, Proposition 36, that intends to rein in the chaos progressive policies have wreaked on our criminal justice system.
Specifically, Proposition 36 will reclassify several crimes back to felonies that were downgraded to misdemeanors by Proposition 47 in 2014.
A majority of California voters supported this initiative which was misleadingly titled the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act” by then-Attorney General Kamala Harris. It did a tremendous amount of damage to our state by downgrading a number of crimes from felonies to misdemeanors including shoplifting, grand theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, fraud and writing a bad check – as long as none of those crimes exceeded $950, and the use of most illicit drugs.
The good news is that Proposition 36 will address these concerns. It will increase the penalty for repeat shoplifters of $950 in value or less from a misdemeanor to a felony, punishable by up to three years in prison. Drug dealers will serve their sentences in prison, and to combat the rampant fentanyl epidemic, the proposition will require courts to warn convicted criminals that they could be charged with murder if they sell or provide illegal drugs that kill someone, and be charged with murder if they later sell or provide illegal drugs to someone who dies. This latter part is also known as Alexandra’s Law, which I attempted to place on the ballot through Assembly Constitutional Amendment 12.
It has been a decade since Proposition 47 passed, and voters see for themselves the serious consequences that weakened crime and sentencing laws have on our communities. Since its passage, property and retail theft have skyrocketed, with flash mobs becoming commonplace at shopping centers to steal goods. Since the vast majority of retail theft falls under $950, criminals know there are no consequences for stealing less than $950.
Importantly, Proposition 36 will ensure that criminals face consequences for their illegal actions against Californians. At the same time, it aims to create the classification of crime called “treatment-mandated felony.” Convicted criminals, who do not contest certain drug charges, could complete a drug treatment program instead of going to prison, but they would still face prison if they fail to complete their treatment.
Crime in California is out of control, and repealing the mistakes of Proposition 47 by passing Proposition 36 is just the beginning to bringing common sense law enforcement back to our communities.
Vote yes on Proposition 36 to protect your friends, family and local business owners.
Diane Dixon is a member of the California Assembly.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The information provided by California News Bird is for general informational purposes only. While we strive to ensure that the content we publish is accurate, current, and reliable, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, or availability of the information, products, or services contained on our website.
