The state realignment law ushered in by Prop 47 has not been good for public safety. The reason according to many law enforcement leaders in the state is that too many criminals have been released from prison under the federal mandate to reduce prison overcrowding. Marc Debbaudt, President Emeritus of the Association of LA Deputy District Attorneys says the results should come as no surprise.
“We’re the winners of five of the top five spots in the nation for an increase in violent crime rates. Congratulations to the social engineers who pushed realignment and Prop 47. They made California worse, which we predicted.”
Realignment, passed through the legislature as AB 109, went into effect in October 2011. This was after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to reduce prison overcrowding. The high court reasoned that the horrible conditions in the state’s overcrowded jails amounted to cruel and unusual punishment and was therefore unconstitutional.
A UC Irvine Study published last week found no significant increase in state crime rates caused by prison realignment. But Debbault wrote in an Op-Ed piece in the Los Angeles Times that more than 3,700 inmates had their sentences reduced and had been released from state prison under Prop 47/AB 109. He wrote, “Drug addicts now often escape punishment for crimes they commonly commit to support their habits: shoplifting, writing bad checks and any thefts under $950 — even of guns. And most semiautomatic pistols and revolvers are purchased new for less than $950. This leniency just facilitates continued addiction.”
Debbaudt says Governor Jerry Brown wants to take the policy a step further by releasing some criminals in for serious offenses early under a new state proposition he hopes to put on the ballot this November. Debbaudt was a guest on 790 KABC’s McIntyre in the Morning Show with Doug McIntyre and Terrie Rae Elmer.