Cañada Crescenta Democratic Club

Public Safety Panel Discussion:

Prop 47 & 57, and Assembly Bill 109
Thursday March 1, Monrovia Community Center Monrovia CA

More than 100 people attended, including  Law Enforcement Officers from nearby jurisdictions, as well as City Councilmembers and mayors.

Major takeaways:

Absence of crime ≠ Presence of well-being.

Policing is local, but criminals roam between jurisdictions.

When police, probation, public health, and community groups work together, recidivism is sharply decreased.

Some offenders are not amenable to rehabilitation. Need to lock up repeat offenders and “predators.”

AB109 only considers most recent felony, does not review history of possible violent felonies.

Under Prop 57, property theft of value less than $950 is a misdemeanor. Acts as a revolving door. Previously “Theft with prior” allowed prosecutors to incarcerate repeat offenders.

Convicted felons face multiple challenges to reintegration:

• Housing is barred to felons
• Probation and parole have scheduled appointments and random drug test requirements which conflict with regular work hours.
• Mental illness and homelessness are huge problems for released offenders
• Convicted felons are barred from 4800 professions in California.

UPDATED JUNE 2018 WITH NEW LEGISLATION

Assembly Bills 2138, 2293, and 3039 would affect the nearly 8 million Californians with non-violent arrest or conviction records and help reduce the barriers they face in receiving a professional license, which is required for 30 percent of jobs in the State of California.  

AB 2138, authored by Assemblymembers Chiu and Low, will prohibit the Department of Consumer Affairs from denying or revoking licenses under its issuing authority unless the conviction is directly and adversely related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession.

Assemblymember Holden has authored AB 3039, which will enact similar provisions for all licenses issued by the Department of Social Services (DSS), to ensure all Californians are able to access employment in community care facilities.

AB 2293 by Assemblymember Reyes will similarly affect licenses as in the previous two bills but will apply to EMS licenses issued by the Emergency Medical Services Authority.

“If a person is good enough to risk their life fighting fires for the state of California as an inmate, and as long as they meet the standards of the program and maintain good behavior, their previous actions should not prevent them from having a job utilizing the skill set they have learned,” said Assemblymember Reyes.

Sponsor

Assemblymember Chris Holden

Decades of tough-on-crime laws, including determinate sentencing and the three-strikes law, filled California’s prisons and burdened the state budget with skyrocketing costs.

AB 109

Criminal Justice Realignment (2011) transferred certain felons from state prisons to county jails or rehabilitation programs.

Proposition 47

“The Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act” (2014) Classified “non-serious, nonviolent crimes” as misdemeanors instead of felonies unless the defendant has prior convictions for murder, rape, certain sex offenses or certain gun crimes.

From Nov-Dec 2014 to July-Sept 2017, re-sentencing petitions, reclassification applications, and juvenile petitions under Prop 47 totaled 325,766.

Proposition 57

allows parole consideration for people with nonviolent convictions,

gives corrections officials the power to grant inmates credits for good behavior

requires judges, instead of prosecutors, to decide whether a minor should be tried as an adult.

Authority over early release remains with California’s parole board, consisting of 12 full-time commissioners appointed by the governor and a group of deputy commissioners.

Moderator

Phlunté Riddle, Psy. D, Assembly District 41 District Director, than 25 years at Pasadena Police Department.

Panelists:

Reaver Bingham
Los Angeles County Probation Department Deputy Chief, oversees AB 109 for the LA County Probation Department

Bob Guthrie
Police Chief for the Arcadia Police Department and President of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association

Daniel Torres
Reintegration Specialist Flintridge Center

Flintridge Center named Non-Profit of the Year for Assembly District.

Not present due to high wind conditions etc:

Secretary Scott Kernan,

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Stephen Walker, Director, Governmental Affairs in California California Correctional Peace Officers Association

Speakers

Oliver Chi
City Manager, Monrovia Taking Back Our Community

Philip L. Sanchez
Chief of Police for the City of Pasadena

Marisa Arrona
Local Safety Solutions Project Director Californians for Safety and Justice

https://safeandjust.org/wp-content/uploads/CSJSafeSound-Dec4-online_2.pdf

General Resource Materials for Civic Participation 1st ed. PDF File

On iPhone,  iBooks is a better PDF reader than Safari.

If you have Google Drive account, you can access document here.  Copy to your own Google Drive Account with this process.  File => Make A Copy => My Drive

Handy to keep on your phone.

If you feel that primary elections are dull & drab, disagreeable, and dreary, please join your club members and other local volunteer organizations in volunteering.

GOTV activities are social, fascinating, and meaningful.

• “Walk your block” for Sandra Chen Lau on 4/28.
• CADEM and SwingLeft have phone banks and canvassing.
• Draw and write #PostcardsToVoters.
• Send text messages to Special Elections voters.
• Research the issues and candidates facing Californians on June 6.
  CalMatters Voters’ Guide to 2018 Primary Election

Club member Leslie Bielanski has been the inspiration of some recent social events, especially if they include spirits! 

The John Sparr Tavern “Social” on April 18, provided a cozy corner table for club president Kevin Gallivan, publicity chair Bonnie Finn, action team coordinator Leslie Bielanski, our beloved 100 year-old member, Mary Naff and new member Rene Steinberg. Cheers!