Proposition 36: The Right Solution?

Your Legal Rights

Ten years ago, California voters passed Proposition 47 which classified certain crimes as misdemeanors that had theretofore been charged as felonies. In recent years, media coverage suggests an uptick in property crime for which some law enforcement groups have long-blamed proposition 47.Is the perception of a surge in crime fair, or has crime remained near historic lows?For that matter, has the increase in property crime in San Francisco or Oakland different from what we see throughout rest of the country? Proposition 36 is being offered in response, purporting to address three of our largest hot-button issues: property crime, the opiate crisis and homelessness. Some, such as former California Senate President Darryl Steinberg, have called into question whether Proposition 36 offers the right solution to these problems; others, including the San Francisco Police Officers Association have pointed to their increased use of technology and dramatic drops in such property crimes as auto burglary. Governor Newsom has commented that the surge in organized retail theft was not only not common at the time proposition 47 was passed, but would never have been affected by proposition 47, that is, those large thefts remain chargeable as felonies.Tonight on Your Legal Rights, we look at Proposition 36, the problems that ail us, and whether Proposition 36 is the right solution to these problems.YLR Host, Jeff Hayden, is joined by Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton,…