Council approves No. 18-15 Act

Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act

The Lindsay City Council approved Tuesday Resolution No. 1815, Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018.

Public Safety Chief Chris Hughes said the Act will help crack down on repeat offenders and protect the most vulnerable victims from dangerous individuals who take advantage of laws, businesses and communities.

Over the last several legislative sessions and election cycles, Hughes said law enforcement partners have tried their best to integrate a series of major reforms into the criminal justice system. However, Hughes said the cumulative effect has created impacts to communities that cannot be ignored.

“It is important to note that in addressing these consequences, we are not proposing to do away with all of the recent changes, and in no way, are we advocating for a system of mass incarceration,” Hughes said.

In general, Hughes said the overall intent of the prior measures has been to increase opportunities for rehabilitation while lowering recidivism and incarceration rates.

“I agree those are worthy goals, but these major policy changes have resulted in a series of unintended consequences that have negatively impacted public safety in communities throughout California,” Hughes said.

Hughes noted that changes meant to help keep someone who steals a magazine out of jail, are now allowing individuals to steal up to $950 repeatedly from stores and businesses. Additionally, he said reform intended to lower penalties on personal drug use and theft have diminished the amount of evidence law enforcement can collect to help solve cold case murders, rapes, and robberies.

Hughes added that modifications to the parole system designed to apply to non-violent offenders are set to potentially provide early release to serious domestic abusers.

The council also adopted

Resolution 18-16 to adopt the 2018 Tulare County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan as approved by Tulare County Office of Emergency Services and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Hughes said the City of Lindsay in accordance with Tulare County and surrounding communities have created a multijurisdictional

hazard mitigation plan to share resources in the event of a catastrophic event requiring the combined efforts of multiple agencies as required by state and federal officials. Hughes said the plan has already been adopted by past councils and must be updated every five years in accordance with mandated regulations.