California Passes Tough-on-Crime Measure Backed by Big Retailers

California voters rolled back key elements of the state’s landmark criminal justice reform, according to the Associated Press, reflecting mounting frustration over brazen retail thefts and open-air drug use.

Proposition 36 was leading with 70.5 percent support to 29.5 percent against the measure, with about 56 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Secretary of State’s website.

The initiative scales back parts of a 2014 ballot measure that reclassified many drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanours. It united an unusual coalition of Democratic mayors, major retailers including Walmart Inc. and Target Corp., and conservative district attorneys. They argued that prosecutors needed more power to charge accused thieves as felons and compel drug users into treatment under threat of jail time.

Among the key changes is the softening of California’s $950 threshold for shoplifting to be charged as a felony. Now, individuals with two prior theft-related convictions can face up to three years in prison for stealing small amounts of goods. The measure also introduces a new category of crime targeting drug users, requiring them to complete treatment or face up to three years in prison.

The proposition divided California Democrats, with the mayors of San Francisco and San Jose — representing two of the nation’s most liberal cities — supporting the measure, while Governor Gavin Newsom opposed it. Other supporters included a prison-guard union and Chris Larsen, the billionaire co-founder of Ripple Labs.

Opponents of Prop 36 argued that California’s criminal justice reforms have successfully reduced incarceration rates, cut racial disparities in arrests and saved the state hundreds of millions in prison costs. Since the passage of Prop 47 in 2014, approximately $800 million in prison savings has been redirected to mental health programs and other services.

Retailers emerged as major backers of the proposition as California has seen a surge in property crimes during the pandemic. A recent study said property crimes increased in the years after Prop 47 was passed but attributed most of the state’s more recent spike in property crime to pandemic-related responses by the criminal justice system.

By Eliyahu Kamisher

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