Category: Policy

Understanding retail theft in California

by · Jul 9, 2025 11:14 am

Concerns about retail theft in California have grown in recent years, with implications for businesses as well as the broader economic climate and the sense of safety across communities. In response, California lawmakers and voters have enacted several legal reforms aimed at curbing theft. A recent report from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office breaks down what we know about retail theft trends over the past decade, explores potential contributing factors, and reviews how recent policy changes may have affected these trends.

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A New Day Dawns in LA

by · Nov 18, 2024 9:02 am

LA DA-elect Nathan Hochman will be sworn in on December 2. Fox 11 has this story.

On day one in office, Hochman said he would eliminate Gascón’s extreme pro-criminal policies. Hochman said Gascón’s policies have led to a rise in crime throughout the county.

As DA, Hochman said his goal is to empower law enforcement, prosecutors, victim groups, store owners, and residents in LA County.

“They’re fed up with their cars being broken into, their homes being robbed. If they’re store owners with their stores being ransacked. And they want to bring back accountability. They wanted proportional, they wanted smart, they wanted common sense. They want the law enforcement officers to do a good job, but they want them to do that job,” Hochman said. Continue reading . . .

Free the Detergent!

by · Oct 2, 2024 5:08 pm

The San Diego Union-Tribune has this editorial, titled Endorsement: Yes on Prop. 36: Time to free the detergent.

The coming landslide win for Proposition 36 will be a triumph for truth over spin. The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board has long supported criminal justice reform. But in real time, we saw the obvious flaws of Proposition 47 — the November 2014 measure that Proposition 36 is meant to fix. It changed many “nonviolent” felonies into misdemeanors in a ham-handed way that incentivized certain crimes.

Eleven months later, The Washington Post dispatched a reporter to San Diego who wrote an unforgettable account showing the incredulity of law enforcement over the new status quo: “instead of arresting criminals and removing them from the streets, their officers have been dealing with the same offenders again and again. Caught in possession of drugs? That usually means a misdemeanor citation under Prop 47, or essentially a ticket. Caught stealing something worth less than $950? That means a ticket, too. Caught using some of that $950 to buy more drugs? Another citation.

Nothing has changed since then — unless you count the emergence of a cottage industry determined to depict Proposition 47 as good no matter what. So store clerks say they’ve stopped reporting thefts because there’s no point? It’s a blip. So store owners are spending heavily to lock up more goods than ever, including detergent? There’s no proof that’s necessary — the corporations in charge have an agenda.

Manipulation of crime statistics, one of our favorite subjects, enters into the picture: Continue reading . . .

The Cost of Lax Enforcement of the Law

by · Sep 17, 2024 11:06 am

The Washington Post provides an example of the cost of not enforcing the law, even for minor offenses, in this story by Racher Weiner.

Paisley Brodie, age 12, was walking from school to the library when she was hit by a car while crossing the street in the crosswalk. She was taken from the scene in an ambulance. The car that hit her “has 94 unpaid tickets worth $19,770 from D.C. traffic cameras, six for speeding just this month and four for running red lights since July.”

It turns out this is not unusual. The car “is among roughly 2,100 vehicles with 40 or more unpaid tickets, according to D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles numbers from last year. It’s a fresh example of how drivers can rack up infractions from D.C. cameras but remain on the road.” Continue reading . . .

Bail reform increased recidivism rates for violent offenders: Study

by · Feb 13, 2024 1:02 pm

Bail reform has been a hot topic in the criminal justice arena, particularly in New York, where significant legislative changes were enacted in 2019. These reforms aimed to address disparities in pretrial detention practices and promote fairness within the system. Now, a new study offers fresh insights into the impact of these reforms, specifically focusing on suburban and upstate regions. As policymakers and stakeholders continue to navigate the complexities of bail reform, this study provides valuable findings on its effects on recidivism rates and pretrial detention practices. In this blog post, we delve into the key findings of this study and discuss their implications for ongoing reform efforts.

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Inviting Lawlessness

by · Feb 1, 2024 1:10 pm

Last weekend seven illegal aliens attacked two New York police officers in Times Square, beating and kicking them in the head and face. The incident was recorded on security cameras. The New York Daily News reports that six were arrested and charged with assault on a police officer before being released without bail. Five of the six are citizens of Venezuela, one is facing trial for an earlier assault and robbery. All were invited to enter the U.S. illegally by the current president. These criminals are fortunate to be in New York City. They live in tax-supported shelters where they receive free food, clothing and medical care. They don’t worry about being deported because New York is a sanctuary state.  While assaulting a police officer in most other states would put you in jail with high or no bail until trial, in New York City you get released on your own recognizance.  It is doubtful that any of these criminals will show up for trial, and even if they do, progressive Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is likely to cut them a deal to plead guilty for malicious mischief and release them on probation. Think I’m kidding, this is standard procedure in New York under its criminal justice reforms, supposedly adopted for racial justice, as noted in a recent post.

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Regrets of a Proposition 47 Supporter

by · Aug 30, 2023 1:38 pm

“I had supported Proposition 47, which basically said you wouldn’t prosecute —the crimes were much different at the level of up to $950. I thought it was a good idea at the time because I thought, we need to give people an opportunity, we need to give people a chance,” David Canepa said to CBS News Bay Area.  Canepa is a San Mateo County, California Democrat who sits on the  Board of Supervisors.  Kristine Parks of Fox News reports that in the wake of out-of-control theft in the Bay Area, Canepa has changed his mind about Proposition 47: “I made a mistake, it was a big mistake, and you have to acknowledge your mistake,” he confessed. “By doing this, what we’ve done is we’re letting people take thousands and thousands of dollars. And why should people be subjugated?”  With counties essentially helpless to crack down on thieves under Proposition 47, Camepa is now calling on the Governor and state Legislature to reduce the dollar amount of thefts that qualify as a felony.  Two bills to do this, one authored by a Democrat and the other by a Republican died in the legislature last year.

Why aren’t office workers returning to Philadelphia?

by · Aug 24, 2023 10:28 am

“The City of Brotherly Love has a new reputation as one of the emptiest office districts in America, sparking a debate over what’s keeping Philadelphia workers at home,” Katie Mogg reports in the WSJ.

Philadelphia, like many U.S. cities, has gone full throttle on efforts to lure people back into downtown areas. But the combination of the office-worker exodus, taxes and crime has resulted in more empty office space on the market today than during the 2008 recession, theorize researchers, Philadelphia employees and real-estate professionals.

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DOJ To Prohibit Data-Based Policing

by · May 10, 2023 11:17 am

One of the most effective improvements to policing of the last fifty years has been the use of data to determine which neighborhoods are plagued with the most crime.  In the mid 1990s, law enforcement agencies in many U.S. cities, including New York and Los Angeles, were able to dramatically cut crime rates by targeting high crime areas with more police patrols and specialized units focused on gangs and illegal firearms.  Crime reporting and incident data has also helped focus government and private programs on the areas and populations most in need of services to improve their lives.  In its blind pursuit of “social justice” the Biden administration has determined that data-based policing is racist.  James Lynch of the Daily Caller reports that Department of Justice is proposing updating anti-discrimination guidelines which will prevent federal law enforcement from relying on crime statistics to catch criminals.

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A commentary on CCJ’s recommendations for sentencing reform

by · Mar 22, 2023 2:18 pm

In Spring 2022, the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) launched a Task Force on Long Sentences with the aim of assessing our nation’s use of long prison terms (i.e., 10+ years) and the impact on public safety and justice. Most recently, the Task Force released a report detailing their 14 recommendations about how to reduce mass incarceration without negatively impacting public safety.

The recommendations are questionable, though, as they seem overly optimistic about the state of the research. For example, they propose various alternatives to incarceration that are supposedly effective, though they make the research sound much more conclusive than it actually is. Perhaps they ought to be reminded of the old adage: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” In this post, I will highlight some of the more controversial “recommendations” and provide some points for consideration. In a future post, I will critically assess each recommendation in more detail and provide additional points for consideration.

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