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Proposition 47 Deserves Fair Chance to Transform Judicial System

by Steve Pleich (spleich [at] gmail.com)
Prop 47 Offers Real Criminal Justice Reform
There has been much talk about the idea of “Smart Solutions” to address everything from homelessness to campaign finance reform. Proposition 47, which was approved by the voters last November, offers the first really “smart solution” to substantive criminal justice reform in a long time. In my view, this eminently practical revision to our system of criminal justice effectively addresses an antiquated policy of harsher penalties that is neither sensible nor socially responsible.

At its core, Prop 47 reduces certain nonserious and nonviolent property offenses from wobblers/felonies to misdemeanors but limits these reduced penalties to offenders who have not committed serious crimes listed in the measure, including murder and certain sex and gun crimes. It specifically addresses low level theft and property crimes (those under the amount of $950) like shoplifting, grand theft, receiving stolen property and check fraud which continue to clog our courts and whose prosecution impedes the effort to create forward thinking Restorative Justice models within our criminal courts. The measure also reduces penalties for enumerated nonserious and nonviolent drug crimes and allows certain offenders who have been previously convicted of such crimes to apply for reduced sentences. This is particularly wise and timely policy in light of the lamentable defunding of our local drug court.

Additionally, the measure directs that any savings resulting from the operation of the measure (estimated at between $150-$250 Million Dollars) be annually transferred from the General Fund into a new state fund called the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund. Monies from this fund would be spent to support truancy prevention and victim services and would also fund mental health and drug abuse treatment services that are designed to help keep individuals out of prison and jail.

And here’s where the true wisdom of Prop 47 shines through. For decades, the policies underlying the criminal justice system in California have undergone mind numbing and common sense defying pendulum swings between the need for incarceration and the desire for rehabilitation. The only consistent consideration has been the protection of victims’ right and that is as it should be. But our steadfast determination to impose consequences on those accused of criminal behavior has rendered us singularly unable as a society to understand and address the causes of that behavior. The programs which the passage of Prop 47 makes possible will not only increase that understanding, they will pave the way for a model of restorative justice that can be the foundation of an enlightened criminal justice system. It is high time to swing the pendulum of public policy in California away from arrest and incarceration and toward rehabilitation and support. I say let Prop 47 do its intended work and let the results speak for themselves.
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