In 2014, California’s voters approved Proposition 47.
What did Proposition 47 do? Here’s your answer, straight from the Los Angeles Public Defender’s office:
(Proposition 47 is) a ballot measure passed by California voters on November 5, 2014. The law made some non-violent property crimes, where the value does not exceed $950, into misdemeanors. It also made some simple drug possession offenses into misdemeanors. It also provides that past convictions for these charges may be reduced to a misdemeanor by a court. Under Prop 47, you may qualify for a reduction from a felony to a misdemeanor for some of the following offenses:
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- Certain Forgeries
- Commercial Burglary
- Petty Theft with Priors
- Bad Check
- Grand Theft Crimes
- Possession of Stolen Property
- Possession of a Controlled Substance
Translation: proposition 47 made it a virtual non-crime to rob people blind, as long as the robbers restrict their robberies to $950 or less per episode.
FYI – assuming you don’t do multiple episodes a day, just one, that gives misdemeanor status for one year’s “work” to $346,750 of the various robberies detailed above….and $347,700 on leap years.
So how is this beyond-belief idiocy working out?
From Arjun Singh’s article for dailycaller.com:
Retailers in California are backing a new ballot proposition that seeks to raise penalties for drug and property crimes amid a surge in such offenses.
In 2014, California voters approved Proposition 47, a ballot measure that reclassified some non-violent offenses such as shoplifting and grand theft as misdemeanors instead of felonies, thereby reducing their penalties. Amid a massive increase in such offenses in California and complaints from businesses, retailers are backing a new ballot initiative — The Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act — that seeks to reverse the effects of Proposition 47 and reclassify these offenses as felonies. (RELATED: Businesses Are Fleeing San Francisco In Droves, Leaving The City Devastated As Crime, Drug Use Runs Wild)
“Cal Retailers supports the initiative,” wrote a representative for the California Retailers Association in an email to The Daily Caller News Foundation, adding that “[t]his issue is too important to the safety of our employees, our customers, and the communities in which we operate to not find effective solutions.”
The fact that California retailers want this reversed is no surprise at all. The surprise – make that beyond-belief astonishment – is that it took nine years – NINE YEARS!!!! – for them to figure it out.
A few questions worth considering:
How many businesses do you figure closed because of Proposition 47?
How many productive citizens of California have moved their businesses to other states because of Proposition 47?
How many career thieves has Proposition 47 created, who have lived for years off the fact that they can pretty much steal at will with no expectation of having to pay what they steal?
And now that biggest question of all: will California Governor Gavin Newsom – who was Lieutenant Governor when Proposition 47 became law, then Governor for the past 5 years – support this reversal?
I ask that because, just two years ago, according to a CBS News report, Newsom spoke out of both sides of his mouth about Proposition 47.
According to CBS, Newsom defended Proposition 47…but, then again, he didn’t. Here, from that article, is the Newsom doublespeak:
Both defended Proposition 47, a ballot measure approved by California voters in 2014 that reduced certain theft and drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors.
Property crime dropped significantly since then despite the recent high-profile cases, Newsom said. State crime statistics show property crimes dipped 7.7% last year, led by a nearly 15% drop in larceny thefts and 4% drop in burglaries.
But Newsom said both the recent spate of mass thefts and lack of prosecutions are “unacceptable.”
“If people are breaking in, people stealing your property, they need to be arrested. Police need to arrest them. Prosecutors need to prosecute them. Judges need to hold people accountable for breaking the law,” Newsom said. “These are not victimless crimes, and I have no empathy for these criminal elements.”
Even thefts under $950 should be prosecuted as misdemeanors or “stacked” into felony complaints if there are repeat offenses, he said, contending some officials “choose” not to do so.
“I want to see local efforts. I want to see them stepped up,” said Newsom, formerly San Francisco’s mayor. “Look at the laws. You have the ability. Stack repeat offenders and move to prosecute.”
Got that? Proposition 47 is great because crime dropped after it passed. But crime is up so go after the criminals.
Huh?
Chalk that up as another reason California has lost population each of the past three years, and businesses are hightailing it out of the state.
It will be interesting to see if this reversal passes. Personally I’m not sure if it will…in part because, after 9 years, so many people are getting so much free stuff because of Proposition 47, and, therefore, have a stake in keeping it as is…
…until enough stores close so that there aren’t enough places left to steal from, that is. Then they’ll demand action, I’m sure.
