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.
| 06/04/18 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| 05/31/18 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
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.
| 05/25/18 | In committee: Held under submission. |
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.
| 06/04/18 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| 05/31/18 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
Sponsor
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.
“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
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