Fresno lawmaker says he wants voters to repeal Proposition 47. Here’s what he’s doing
Republican Assemblymember Jim Patterson of Fresno and several co-authors introduced this week a bill that would give voters the choice to repeal most of Proposition 47, which detractors say is too soft on criminals.
Patterson has been a vocal critic of the law that reduced sentencing for some non-violent drug and theft crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, including thefts of retail items valued up to $950.
Critics have blamed Democratic policies for the recent spike in organized retail theft, including California’s Proposition 47, the 2014 initiative passed by voters.
Patterson said Wednesday changing felonies to misdemeanors artificially lowered the crime rate in the state, but doesn’t reflect the reality.
“The reason crime statistics are down is because they changed the kind of crimes reported in the statistics,” he said. “Yet those very crimes are dangerous, hurtful and should be treated as felonies.”
“Be on the side of repeat victims,” he said.
Patterson’s Assembly Bill 1599, if approved by voters, would return all of those misdemeanors back to felonies except for people found carrying concentrated cannabis.
Prop. 47 was sold as a way to reduce incarceration rates in California, where prisons are woefully overcrowded.
“Crime is everybody’s concern now, and it’s the truth of what we are living presently,” Patterson said. “The ruling party has got to understand that it has made significant miscalculations.”
“When you have police authority to intervene or arrest, you have the opportunity to help these individuals get drug treatment or go into drug courts,” he said.
Patterson said he is a supporter of second chances, but Prop. 47 does not allow law officers to separate hardened criminals from people who need help to leave a life of crime.
Gov. Gavin Newsom supports Prop. 47
Gov. Gavin Newsom has defended Prop. 47 as it has come under fire by law enforcement leaders in recent years and became a talking point once again as smash and grab robberies hit several retail chains late last year.
Newsom in December announced a plan for a proposed $335 million in crime prevention spending, which was introduced Dec. 17 as a preview of the budget the Democratic governor will formally present this month.
Under the proposal, the state would provide millions in grants to law enforcement and district attorneys to go after criminals to combat retail theft, gun violence and drug crimes.
Newsom said in December the organized thefts have nothing to do with Prop. 47.
“I’m just sick and tired of this ‘either/or’ debate, which I think is rather lazy and unfortunate,” he said Dec. 17. “And as long as I’m here, I’m going to try to drive to improve public safety and a lot of these reforms have actually enhanced public safety.”
Prop. 47 critics include Fresno DA
Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp has come out against Prop. 47 and other legislation, like Prop. 57, passed by the Democratic majority in California.
“Governor Newsom has created this environment where it is nearly impossible to hold these criminals accountable under the current laws,” a DA’s Facebook post said in December.
Some law enforcement and retailers argue thieves were emboldened by knowing they could steal up to $950 of merchandise and still avoid a felony charge. But, the numbers don’t necessarily reflect that.
Overall, the number of property crimes recorded the year Prop. 47 was passed (946,682) was more than the 915,197 recorded in 2019. In 2020, the state recorded 841,171 incidents of property crime while many stores closed due to the pandemic.
Experts note that some lower-level crimes go underreported.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 2:53 PM.
