HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2a - Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018
DATE: March 6, 2018 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dominic Lazzaretto, City Manager
By: Michael Bruckner, Assistant to the City Manager SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 7208 TO SUPPORTING THE REDUCING CRIME
AND KEEPING CALIFORNIA SAFE ACT OF 2018
Recommendation: Adopt
SUMMARY
The collective impacts of the state’s criminal justice reform efforts are well known to law
enforcement agencies and communities throughout the state. The Reducing Crime and
Keep California Safe Act (the “Act”) seeks to address the unintended consequences of
AB 109, Proposition 47, and Proposition 57 by increasing opportunities for rehabilitation while lowering recidivism and incarceration rates. With adoption of Resolution No. 7208,
the City of Arcadia will join an ever growing coalition of cities and law enforcement
agencies supporting this initiative. Therefore, it is recommended that the City Council
adopt Resolution No. 7208 (Attachment “A”) supporting the Reducing Crime and
Keeping California Safe Act of 2018.
BACKGROUND
In 2011, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 109 (“AB 109”), more commonly known
as the Public Safety Realignment Act, in order to comply with a federal court order to reduce the state’s prison population to 137.5% of its design capacity. AB 109 aimed to
accomplish this objective by realigning incarceration authority of roughly 45,000 criminal
offenders from state prisons to county jails. Because local facilities were never designed
to house violent criminals for the duration of their prison terms, and due to the shifting
populations of the state’s prison population, AB 109 resulted in the early release of tens of thousands criminal offenders back into local communities. It is believed that AB 109
has had a direct impact on rising property crime rates throughout the state.
In 2014, California voters passed Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools
Act, which reclassified a number of “non-violent, non-serious” crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Offenses include drug possession, repeated shoplifting, forging checks,
Adopt Resolution 7208 to Support the Keeping California Safe Act of 2018 March 6, 2018
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gun theft, and possession of date-rape drugs. The effects of this initiative have been far-reaching, as the threshold for misdemeanor thefts has been lowered to less than $950,
allowing career criminals to game the system. Further, the normalization of drug
possession has decimated the legal system’s ability to compel addicts to enter drug
rehabilitation programs, and has been assumed as an underlying cause in the dramatic rise of the state’s homeless populations.
Finally, in 2016, California voters passed Proposition 57, the Public Safety and
Rehabilitation Act, which allows prisoners convicted of “non-violent” felonies to apply for
early release. According to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, Proposition 57 allows for the early release of nearly 30,000 criminals convicted of felonies that include: assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, first degree burglary, human
trafficking involving a minor, and active participation in a street gang, to name a few. In
addition, Proposition 57 allows the State Department of Corrections unlimited authority
to grant credits to all criminals—regardless of the nature of their crime—which would facilitate their early release. Criminals who committed multiple crimes against multiple victims are eligible for release at the same time as offenders who only committed single
crimes against a single victim. Lastly, and most importantly, repeat criminals are eligible
for release after the same period of incarceration as first time offenders.
DISCUSSION
The City of Arcadia has not been immune to the effects of AB 109 and Proposition 47.
All indicators strongly suggest similar results are expected from the implementation of
Proposition 57. In 2016, the City experienced a 22% increase in violent and property crimes when compared to 2015 levels, including 66% more burglary or attempted burglaries and 14% more larceny attempts. Recent efforts by the Arcadia Police
Department have yielded positive results; however, the long-term effects of criminal
justice reform in California cannot be understated.
The Reducing Crime and Keep California Safe Act (the “Act”) seeks to address the unintended consequences of AB 109, Proposition 47, and Proposition 57 by increasing
opportunities for rehabilitation while lowering recidivism and incarceration rates.
Specifically, the Act would reform existing law to hold convicted felons accountable for
violating the terms of their release, and expands the list of violent crimes for which early release is not an option. It would enact reforms for repeat offenders who steal to support their drug habits requiring them to enter into existing drug treatment programs. The Act
also restores DNA collection from persons convicted of theft and drug offenses, and
does not affect existing legal safeguards that protect privacy of individuals by allowing
for the removal of their DNA profile if they are not charged with a crime, are acquitted, or are found innocent. Further, the Act requires the Board of Parole to consider an inmate’s entire criminal history when deciding parole, not just the most recent offense,
among other provisions.
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To date, the Act is still in the signature gathering phase for qualifying for the November 2018 ballot. The deadline to certify this initiative with the California Secretary of State is
July 3, 2018. With adoption of Resolution No. 7208, the City of Arcadia will join an ever
growing coalition of cities and law enforcement agencies supporting this initiative.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact associated with the adoption of the Resolution. If the Act is ultimately
adopted, it should ease overtime costs and other public safety costs due to crimes in
the community. RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 7208 supporting the
Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018.
Attachment: Resolution No. 7208