Reject Prop. 20 ‘lock them up’ style of justice

The last thing California needs is a return to the tough-on-crime days of the 1990s that largely failed to lower crime rates and resulted in massive prison overcrowding and skyrocketing costs to taxpayers .

It’s doubly so in the midst of a pandemic that is wreaking havoc with the state’s budget and highlighting the deadly dangers of packing inmates in tight living quarters.

California voters should reject Proposition 20. They should recognize the ballot measure as the latest effort by police and prison guard unions to roll back the success of Assembly Bill 109 (2011) and propositions 47 (2014) and 57 (2016), which ensured that the criminal justice system’s resources were more wisely used.

In 2009, California taxpayers spent 11% of the state budget, or about $8 billion, to house nearly 160,000 inmates in 33 state prisons designed to hold 80,000 inmates. The situation was so horrific that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the overcrowding violated the U.S. Constitution and ordered the state to reduce its prison population by 33,000 prisoners within two years.

California now spends about 7.4% of its budget to house about 105,000 prisoners. (Gov. Gavin Newsom last month ordered the release of about 8,000 prisoners due to the pandemic, dropping the state prison population below 100,000 for the first time since 1990.) And the state’s overall crime rate continues to show an ongoing decline, according to the state Attorney

General’s office.

Prop. 20’s attack on Prop. 47 begins with its effort to turn repeated misdemeanor theft crimes into felonies, echoing the failed “three strikes and you’re out” approach utilized in the 1990s. Prop. 20 would reduce the felony threshold for theft from $950 to $250, which is even lower than $450 level that existed prior to Prop. 47.

Proponents argue that store owners are experiencing an onslaught of petty theft crimes in which teams of shoplifters are raiding stores of items amounting to just under $950. Crime statistics do not show the kind of increase that would warrant the change, and California district attorneys already have adequate tools to deal with repeat petty theft offenders and can charge those working as teams with conspiracy to commit a felony.

Prop. 20 also would add crimes to the list of violent felonies for which early parole is restricted. It’s a return to the “lock ’em up and throw away the key” approach that made California the national leader in recidivism rates.

The state has moved toward a system that invests in rehabilitation, mental health treatment and drug addiction prevention for inmates, helping prepare them for returning to communities and being productive members of society. Restricting parole opportunities takes away inmates’ incentives for addressing their problems.

California paid a heavy price for its heavy-handed 1990s approach to crime. Voters should reject any effort to return to that failed system.

Vote no on Prop. 20.

Similar past policies failed to lower crime, led to prison overcrowding and skyrocketing costs.