A California sheriff criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for spreading “false” crime statistics as a way to protect progressive policies that have failed to address the rampant crime, homelessness and drug deaths plaguing the Golden State.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco accused the Democrat of allegedly lying as a way to protect the proposal. 47, a law passed by California voters in 2014 that Reduced penalties for drug and property crimes.
Bianco said Newsom has resisted changing the law to save face, while the state continues to wrestle with the ramifications of reversing harsher penalties against criminals and drug addicts.
“Right now, they’re against it because, in basic terms, I guess they’re going to have to admit that Proposition 47 was a disaster that they’ve been trying to defend for years since it passed,” Bianco said. Fox News In an interview.
“The reality of a leader, a true leader, is someone who can say, ‘Look, we had good intentions about something, but we had some unintended consequences that now we have to fix.'”
The sheriff added, “That would have been a form of leadership for our government to get through this situation.” but instead, for the last 10 years, they have completely defended Proposition 47. They have lied to the public.’
Bianco is part of a group of top brass who are pushing for a new ballot measure called the Theft, Drug Addiction and Homelessness Reduction Act, which would reverse parts of the highly controversial Proposition 47.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for woke policies that he said have contributed to increased crime and homelessness across the state.
The Democratic governor signaled that he opposes changes to Proposition 47, which reduced narcotics possession and other crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.
The proposed measure, which could be on the ballot in November, would not only reduce drug and theft crimes from misdemeanors to felonies, but would also allow judges to order drug rehabilitation for offenders.
Bianco said the Golden State has long suffered from the aftermath of Proposition 47 and is now seeing its outrageous negative impacts.
Newsom has resisted calls to roll back Proposition 47. Earlier this year, he asked local lawmakers to create new crime categories targeting “career” criminals.
“I think it’s important to be honest with people,” Newsom said. ‘Again, I don’t want to say everything about [Prop] 47 is perfect and perfect. We want to resolve some of the ambiguities, but we can do it without reform or turning to the voters themselves.’
Since 2019, Newsom has invested about $1.1 billion from state coffers to combat organized retail theft and other crimes under his Real Public Safety Plan.
As part of his plan to address rising crime in Oakland, Gov. announced last month 480 new high-tech cameras will be installed on busy streets to help identify criminals.
According to Oakland police, robberies increased 32% in March compared to the same period last year.
Police issued an alert warning Oakland residents about the increase in robberies by people, even when drivers are still in their cars.
Oakland’s theft problems made national headlines after the city’s only In-N-Out burger joint decided to close its doors on March 25 after 18 years at 8300 Oakport Street.
Oakland’s only In-N-Out had to close because customers and employees were falling victim to thieves
Denny Warnock, chief operating officer of In-N-Out, wrote in a statement: “Despite taking repeated steps to create safer conditions, our Customers and Associates are regularly victims of auto theft, property damage, theft and armed robberies”.
However, Newsom’s high-tech camera plan backfired and drew criticism when residents and privacy advocates said the governor was turning their city into a “surveillance state.”
Cat Brooks, founder of the Anti-Police Terror Project, criticized Newsom’s surveillance plan. She said the money would have been better used to address the city’s growing homeless population.
“We are concerned for a state and city with huge budget deficits and the largest homeless population in our city and across the country,” Brooks said in a statement. “When we decide to deploy 480 new cameras, we should ask ourselves how many people could be housed with the money we spent on this, how many people could be trained to do living-wage jobs.”
Volunteers help clean out belongings at a homeless encampment near the Nimitz Highway in Oakland after the city issued an order to remove and clean the area where 30 to 40 people live in cars, RVs, tents. campaign and other improvised structures.
He added: ‘The approach is to adopt the same failed strategies we have adopted for decades. We’ve never stopped sending people to prison, but crime continues to rise because it’s an approach that doesn’t work.’
DailyMail.com has previously reported that cities like San Francisco continue to experience a “doom cycle” economic collapse and risk losing millions of dollars as businesses leave the Bay Area and other parts of the state.
Pedestrians walk past the iconic Macy’s flagship store in Union Square in downtown San Francisco, which has been earmarked for closure. The once-thriving downtown has seen more than a dozen stores close due to a lack of foot traffic, crime and rampant drug use in the area.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed in December proposed a 10% spending cut by 2024 as the city grapples with homelessness, fentanyl and other drug overdoses and an exodus of businesses from downtown.
Nathan Hochman, former deputy US attorney general, said California voters are ready for a change and are tired of feeling unsafe.
Hochman, who is an independent, will run in November against Democratic Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, a co-author of Proposition 47.
He said that over the past year, shoplifting increased about 81% in Los Angeles County.
Most people arrested for non-serious, non-violent crimes could be cited and released on the spot, or booked and then released from jail with orders to appear before a judge if charges are filed.
However, many never bother to show up in court, Hochman said.
Under Gascon’s policies, prosecutors are also instructed not to ask the judge for bail for non-serious, non-violent offenders.
“Right now you can commit 800 misdemeanors and it will never turn into a felony charge,” Hochman told DailyMail.com. “So in Los Angeles County there is a combination of these Proposition 47 laws with a prosecutor [Gascon] who refuses to prosecute certain types of crimes. This leads to a situation where many criminals throughout Los Angeles County believe they have a license to steal, and often.’
Hochman added that while Newsom and other Proposition 47 supporters were “looking for short-term solutions,” the current law has not stopped repeat offenders.
Nathan Hochman, an independent candidate running against Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, said voters are “fed up” with rising crime and homelessness.
“California mayors look around and tear their hair out saying the laws are weak,” Hochman said. ‘And even if they are enforced, criminals understand them better than legislatures because they continue to commit these crimes and receive almost no punishment even if they are caught. They come back and do it again.’
“I think California voters are incredibly fed up, frustrated, and looking for elected officials and proposals they support that will go a long way toward restoring safety to their communities.”