What’s happening in our state is criminal

It was just another day perusing the Butte County Fires, Accidents, Crimes Facebook page.

May 2, 1:10 a.m.: Naked man seen masturbating outside of a child’s window. Police en route.

You see these kinds of stories so often, it’s a wonder people don’t become numb to the news. But you don’t. The reports are so sickening, they strike us like a cold slap across the face every time.

May 5, 5:45 p.m.: An employee had to run from her store after a crazed man tried to kick in their business door (2400 block of Park Ave very close to Comanche Creek). The male had previously been acting strangely asking for water and meth. He had entered another business where he threw items around. Update: This is the same suspect that reportedly was crashing shopping carts into cars at 4:50 this morning.

Another “repeat offender” mention. This is quite possibly the most depressing part about this page — the number of times you see the same people’s names and mugshots. Over, and over, and over. It’s not uncommon to see somebody get arrested, booked, released and arrested again later the same day. “Move them along” has become a very unpopular refrain.

May 5, 7:45 p.m.: Out with a well known male transient at W. 3rd & Cherry St. He was advised to quit staring at the girls across the street.

And the first “transient” mention. You see that a lot on the BCFAC. (We’ll get back to that.)

May 5, 2021: “She’s unaware that her boyfriend bit grandma earlier.” This was in reference to the granddaughter not knowing her boyfriend (from Florida) was arrested earlier today for biting her grandmother during a family dispute over finances.

A boyfriend who bites grandma? Wow. Sounds like quite a catch.

April 20, 2021: Registered sex offender transient arrested in Chico today on a misdemeanor charge of failure to obey a lawful court order. On Dec. 18 he was served with a civil summons today ordering him to appear in court after a female victim of his stalking and lewd behavior filed for a 5-year restraining order. His probation was to last three years but because of AB 1950 it was reduced to one year.

In other words, we caught the guy; we convicted the guy; we threw the guy in jail; and some short-sighted elected officials decided it was a good idea to let him out early. And — surprise! — after getting out, he didn’t follow the law. One more sex offender loose on our streets, thanks to your tax dollars at work.

Everybody depressed yet?

Those are five posts out of the thousands that are available on that page. Sadly, they are not at all out of the ordinary. You don’t have to cherrypick while looking for disturbing news on BCFAC.

You want to know why so many people are leaving this late, great golden state? Start there.

If there’s one thing the state of California has failed at more miserably than in most areas — and that’s a list far too long to fit into our newspaper today — it’s protecting its citizens. The insanity that is happening in our state is matched only by the downright brazen level of ignorance coming from the halls of Sacramento.

Police are pushed to the max and beyond. Jails are bursting at the seams. There’s barely any room to take in new customers and once they’re there, there’s often little choice but to let them right back out.

But, leave it to Gov. Gavin Newsom to find a way to fix that problem: Just let another 76,000 prisoners go free! That’ll open up the cells so we can fill them with more, uh, prisoners.

“But Mike!” you say. “What’s the answer? Building more jails?”

Well, yes. If that’s what it takes to keep bad people off the streets, put me down for a big “yes.” Or at least stop closing the old ones, as just happened with the prison in Susanville (a move that also eliminated an inmate firefighting program, so this counts as a double-boneheaded move in our tinderbox of a state).

And let’s stop throwing those doors open and letting people go before they have been rehabilitated, or at least have served a sufficient amount of time to pay for their crimes. Who’s afraid of committing crimes these days, anyway? Certainly not criminals.

“But Mike!” you say. “Many of these people need mental health care. And we can’t give it to them because Reagan closed all the mental hospitals.”

Two things here: First, I agree, LOTS of these people need mental health care, and they’re not getting that care while begging for money or looking through trash cans on the street. And I know all about Reagan and the mental hospitals. I’ve been hearing that excuse for more than 40 years.

Here’s a thought: Democrats have controlled our state, and even our country, for almost the entire time ever since. Why haven’t they reversed his actions? Why doesn’t this veto-proof supermajority recognize the mentally sick elephant in the room and make a major investment in mental health care?

No money? The cost of the bullet train is now over $100 billion. In 2008, the estimate was $33 billion, with a 2020 start date. Now it’s at least

$100 billion, with no start date. The cost will double again before it’s done. Count on it.

As a point of comparison, California’s entire fiscal year budget for 202021 was $202.1 billion.

Does that $100 billion boondoggle have your attention now?

Think that money might go a long way toward helping the quality of life in our state — especially those who need help the most, for their sake and ours? I guess some political footballs are just too tough to let go of.

In the meantime, reports of shootings and stabbings seem to happen almost nightly instead of every few weeks. We see the mugshots of registered sex offenders so often, it feels like we’re on a first-name basis.

And all of this just further muddies the nationwide problem of homelessness. Let’s remember that most of our homeless citizens are not sex offenders or violent criminals. But unlike the rest of us, they don’t have a door that locks at night for protection. There are, believe it or not, many law-abiding people living in our parks, and nobody is more afraid of registered sex offenders than they are. (Yes. It is possible, and even sensible, to have empathy for the homeless while showing little tolerance for criminals.)

Say what you will about the homeless population. I’m not going to change your mind one way or the other. But for any of these people to have a chance to turn their lives around, the criminal element in their midst — from drug dealers to sexual offenders — absolutely needs to be eradicated and locked up. Somehow, someway. And it’s the only hope the rest of us have for a truly safe and peaceful existence too.

Instead, Sacramento’s position remains “Hey! Let’s clear out those cells and let another 76,000 criminals join the party!”

Meanwhile, if you’ve followed the law your entire life and have been a legally licensed hunter for 40 or 50 years and want to buy a box of shells in our state … good luck with that.

Depressing? You bet. Tune in tomorrow, same Facebook page. Same news, starring the same people.