From LA, where Proposition 47 reclassified many crimes as misdemeanors. Drug arrests are down by about one-third. Property crimes are up nearly 10 percent. The problem seems to be this: “The new law specifies that the financial savings on the incarceration side be reinvested in truancy, drug treatment and mental health programs. But that provision does not take effect until mid-2016.”
I’d be curious how much and how they determine how much money is being saved by fewer arrests (in court, corrections, and police).
Of course property crimes are going to go up if you cut loose a bunch of dopers with a two year lag on the treatment and diversion funds. I'm not sure why the hell you'd hand such easy ammo to the "locking up junkies works" crowd.
Cause I'm not an ideologue. Facts is facts. I don't bury my head in the sand.
Plus, it's important to remember that "not locking up junkies" isn't the perfect no-fault solution some people think it is.
Peter, I don't mean to derail this comment thread, but do you have any thoughts on the recent Guardian article about the Chicago police department? If so, I'd be eager to read a post about that. I think the article brings to light a few troubling practices, but on the whole, it seems way overblown to me (and similarly, it strikes me as weak investigative reporting).
Cause I'm not an ideologue. Facts is facts.
Not you, I meant the proponents of Prop 47. People have short memories and not a lot of patience. Seems like they would have been better off trying to find a temporary source of funds to immediately do the diversion programs and not risk having the program sabotaged by a short term crime spike. But who knows, maybe those funds couldn't be found.
It does seem odd. But then politics is politics.
Adam,
I had read that piece. Or about the first two-thirds. I don't know what to say as, like you, it all seems a bit shallow, in terms of reporting.
If it's as bad the paper says, I figure there will be more. If it's overblown, as I suspect it is, then who cares?
Here's more on Chicago:
citylab.com/crime/2015/02/behind-the-disappeared-of-chicagos-homan-square/386039/?utm_source=nl_daily_link6_022515
Could that Guardian piece be any dumber? Black site! Off the books! Uh, are they looking at their own pics for the article? There's marked police vehicles in the parking lot and a city sign directing the public to the entrance where they pick up property.
Looks like at least one news source has pushed back a bit:
wbez.org/news/chicago-polices-so-called-black-site-mischaracterized-111629