Why Do Leftists Love Crime?

[seer]

What rational person wouldn't predict this?

LOS ANGELES, CA (FOX 11) - Crime is up, and arrests are down. It is not surprising that arrests are down 30% since 2014 when Prop 47 went into effect. The problem with Prop 47 is simply many felonies were downgraded to misdemeanors. Under Prop 47 for example, property theft in many cases went from a felony to a misdemeanor. Stealing a gun became no more than a misdemeanor ticket.

Without any real consequences, criminals were given a green light to steal more weapons and therefore commit more crimes. With so many crimes downgraded from felonies to misdemeanors, police officers in many instances felt it was not worth it to make arrests for these offenses. This has become especially true at a time when police conduct has come under increased scrutiny at every turn. Officers don’t want to be the next media case over a misdemeanor. Therefore it also comes as no surprise that violent crime in Los Angeles is up an astounding 40% since the passage of Prop 47 in November of 2014. Fewer arrests and incarcerations have translated into more crime.

Governor Brown and the state legislature need to work together to amend Prop 47. Currently under Prop 47 criminal records are not counted or considered. As a result violent felons are getting out early and committing more crimes. Prop 47 needs to be amended so this does not happen. As of now gun theft is a misdemeanor. It should be made a felony. No wonder there are so many guns in the hands of criminals who are responsible for the increase in violent crime.

Restore felony status for property crime offenses. Maybe then we can get the burglary epidemic in southern California under control.


http://www.foxla.com/news/point-of-view/269456304-story

[Littlejoe]

What rational person wouldn't predict this?

Sounds like the idiots went 180° away from the Broken Windows theory with corresponding consequences.

[seer]

Sounds like the idiots went 180° away from the Broken Windows theory with corresponding consequences.

Yep, fewer criminals in prison the more criminals on the street...

[Cow Poke]

But they mean well --- that's all that matters!

[seer]

But they mean well --- that's all that matters!

No matter how dangerous or convoluted the results...

[Sparko]

well if you remove all the laws then they are no longer criminals but upstanding citizens! Typical liberal solution: define the problem away!

[Catholicity]

SoCal has had a long history with crime. Its gotten worse with the drug cartels and gangs taking over. Its not a new problem, I tend to think California is at a loss given its prison over crowding already.....

[seer]

SoCal has had a long history with crime. Its gotten worse with the drug cartels and gangs taking over. Its not a new problem, I tend to think California is at a loss given its prison over crowding already.....

Build more prisons, or let more innocent people be murdered and robbed. I mean if a government doesn't fulfill its basic duty of protecting its citizens then what good is it?

[lilpixieofterror]

Build more prisons, or let more innocent people be murdered and robbed. I mean if a government doesn't fulfill its basic duty of protecting its citizens then what good is it?

I have no issue with criminal justice reform and reducing punishments on some crimes. My view on prop 47 is that it was poorly thought out without due consideration to careful choosing just what crimes should be reduced to misdemeanors. Thus you end up with this mess.

[Cow Poke]

SoCal has had a long history with crime. Its gotten worse with the drug cartels and gangs taking over. Its not a new problem, I tend to think California is at a loss given its prison over crowding already.....

When I was in law enforcement 40 years ago, all 'new' crime trends seemed to originate in Cali. They seem to have a special flare for evil.

[KingsGambit]

When I was in law enforcement 40 years ago, all 'new' crime trends seemed to originate in Cali. They seem to have a special flare for evil.

HEY! When I was a baby, I lived in California.

(California, Missouri, that is...)

[Jedidiah]

HEY! When I was a baby, I lived in California.

(California, Missouri, that is...)

I was born and raised in California, but I got better.

[stfoskey15]

My grandparents live near San Diego, CA, and are the most conservative family members I interact with regularly.

Anyway, one thing I think we need to work on is reducing recidivism rates. I'm not an expert on criminal justice, but it seems to me that we need to make sure that when people get out of prison, they aren't motivated to commit more crimes again.

[Starlight]

Anyway, one thing I think we need to work on is reducing recidivism rates. I'm not an expert on criminal justice, but it seems to me that we need to make sure that when people get out of prison, they aren't motivated to commit more crimes again.

Yes, US recidivism rates are unusually high compared to other countries. One problem is that the for-profit prisons are financially motivated in getting the prisoners to return to prison after they get out, because they get paid per-person. Other countries go to a lot more effort to reintegrate ex-prisoners successfully back into society and have a lot of support for ex-prisoners.

Sounds like the idiots went 180° away from the Broken Windows theory with corresponding consequences.

The broken windows theory hasn't stood up to empirical testing very well.

The biggest effect on crime rates seems to have been the removal of lead from gas and paint. Exposure to lead causes brain damage and makes people more prone to violence. The massive drops in crime all across the Western world over the past few decades correlate well to when the countries and states removed lead from environmental sources (with a 25 year delay). That suggests that the most effective crime-reduction strategy that the US could undertake today would be to make sure all water sources are lead free (e.g. Flint, and the hundreds of other areas that have shown really high lead levels).

Yep, fewer criminals in prison the more criminals on the street...

If you put everyone in prison, then there can be no crime. Great argument.

Also, putting a person in prison, costs more per year than sending them to Harvard on a full scholarship. Are you really prepared to waste that much money on these criminals? Not to mention, if they were actually out in the workforce they would be paying taxes. It works out a looooooot cheaper to spend a little bit of money on programs to help them stay law-abiding and stay in the workforce, than it does to pay the $$$ it costs to imprison them. In prison you're essentially giving them a free home to live in, free food, etc. Think how opposed you would be to giving those same people such massive welfare if they weren't in prison.

[Tassman]

Yep, fewer criminals in prison the more criminals on the street...

Oh really! The US has the highest rates of incarceration in the world by far, nearly double that of the next highest number, namely China which has a far greater population. So clearly something is not OK with Law and order in the Land of the Free. Could it be the grossly inequitable distribution of wealth resulting in ghetto-like breeding grounds for crime?