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Supervisor Veerkamp recommending the Board authorize the Chair to sign a letter of support for the "Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act," which will appear as Proposition 20 on the November 2020 General Election ballot.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
Legislation (AB 109 in 2011) and two ballot initiatives (Prop. 47 in 2014, Prop. 57 in 2016) were designed to reduce inmate populations in state prison. Results included the transferring of nonviolent offenders from the prisons to local jails, shifting responsibility for post-release supervision to counties, and changes in the way certain crimes were categorized (felony, misdemeanor, or “wobbler”). It also made parole easier for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes.
But those three measures brought about new challenges for local governments, including increased jail populations, increased caseloads for probation officials, and increases in crime, including illegal drug use, retail theft, car break-ins, burglaries, and other property crimes.
Proposition 20 seeks to remedy the flaws in the earlier measures, addressing how some violent crimes and serial theft are classified, giving local prosecutors the discretion to charge certain theft and fraud crimes as felonies or misdemeanors, rather than only misdemeanors. The initiative also expands the list of violent crimes for which early release is not an option, including child sex trafficking, assault of a peace officer and felony domestic violence.
In addition, Prop. 20 requires the California Board of Parole Hearings to consider an inmate’s entire criminal history when deciding parole, not just their most recent commitment offense, and requires a mandatory hearing to determine whether parole should be revoked for any parolee who violates the terms of their parole for the third time.
Finally, Proposition 20 would require people convicted of certain misdemeanors previously classified as wobblers or felonies before 2014, such shoplifting, ...
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