CONTRA COSTA COUNTY — Plenty of East Contra Costa officers are backing Proposition 36, saying the statewide initiative on the November Poll would assist restore public security.
The help for the measure that would declaw a landmark prison justice reform regulation credited with maintaining low-level offenders out of overcrowded prisons has even discovered help from Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe. The poll measure proposes to make any theft, no matter worth, a felony whether it is dedicated by an individual with two prior theft convictions, rolling again Proposition 47, which voters authorized in 2014.
On Tuesday, the Brentwood Metropolis Council voted unanimously to endorse Prop. 36, making it the primary metropolis in East Contra Costa County to formally achieve this.
In Pittsburg, Mayor Juan Antonio Banales and Vice Mayor Jelani Killings say they each personally supported the measure, with Banales saying Prop. 47 makes it tough for regulation enforcement businesses to carry repeat offenders accountable, leaving retail theft unchecked.
“That obviously has an impact on our local economy. Prop. 36 helps bring some tools to our police department to be able to minimize or reduce retail theft, which I think ultimately will create a better environment for businesses to thrive in our community,” Banales mentioned.
Killings mentioned lots of Pittsburg’s enterprise homeowners are annoyed because of the lack of penalties.
“A lot of business owners say, what’s the point in reporting or calling it in when ultimately, there’s no consequences for the person who stole from these businesses,” Killings mentioned.
Oakley Metropolis Councilmember Aaron Meadows, who didn’t vote in help of Prop. 47, mentioned any argument that Prop 36’s passage would price taxpayers extra isn’t as essential as deterring folks from committing retail theft.
“I don’t want to live in a society that’s lawless. I want to live in a society where I can go into stores and not have to find a store clerk to unlock (things I want to buy),” he mentioned.
Oakley Mayor Anissa Williams mentioned Prop. 36 is a step in the proper course for folks to get the assistance they want, even when it leaders to increased incarceration charges.
“The pendulum swung too far in the other direction. There has to be a happy medium and I think this, hopefully, is going to have a step in the right direction,” Williams mentioned.
Oakley Vice Mayor Shannon Shaw added folks have develop into daring in committing petty theft as there are not any actual penalties.
“A lot of people are getting tired of the thefts that’s happening. Employees (at retail stores) are putting themselves in danger,” she mentioned. “I think giving the police more authority through law will keep citizens from acting as vigilantes (in protecting themselves).”
Hernandez-Thorpe, the mayor of Antioch, has additionally backed Prop 36. He claimed that homeless encampments close to retail shops has resulted in a spike in crime.
“This isn’t fair to those running businesses, whether it’s a large or small mom-and-pop shops,” he mentioned.
Antioch Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker disagrees with Hernandez-Thorpe.
“I do not support Prop. 36 but I do support finding more sustainable ways to address the challenges of organized retail thefts that doesn’t reverse the hands of time and leave the state of California back into a system of mass incarceration and mass criminalization of nonviolent offenders,” she mentioned.
“I think it’s unfortunate we want to roll back the hands of time,” she added.
