Proposition 47 was intended to reduce incarceration rates by reducing penalties for some property and drug crimes. Yuba City assemblyman Jim Gallagher says a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California glosses over some chilling facts.
"Violent crime is up 13 percent since Prop 47 passed," Gallagher told KFBK. The report says that is a result of changes in crime reporting. But Gallagher isn't buying it. "But even if you account for what they call better reporting, it's still up five percent. So violent crime is up 5 percent and the recidivism rate is only down by 1.8 percent at best."
Cost savings related to fewer incarcerations are supposed to be directed to treatment interventions. The report says allocation of that money has only recently begun, so the initiative’s full impact is still unknown.
Read the summary here. The full report is available here.