California lawmakers blame the media for the perception that crime is getting worse

(Center Square) – California lawmakers at a rally against Proposition 36, a bill that would increase penalties for repeat theft and major drug offenses, argued that the media was behind the increase in the perception that crime in the state it gets worse.

In a video from KCRA, California legislative leaders gathered outside the state capitol building for a “No on 36” rally. Prop. 36 an anti-crime measure that a new Los Angeles Times poll says 56 percent of voters support and only 23 percent oppose. Prop. 36 would change Prop. 47, a 2014 measure that turned potential felonies into misdemeanors for many crimes, allowing felony charges for serial thieves. It would also create a “treatment-mandatory offense” class of crimes that allows people to get treatment for mental health or behavioral problems and receive shelter instead of going to jail.

Democratic lawmakers speaking out against Prop. 36 warned that the bill would significantly increase the prison population and disproportionately affect disadvantaged and minority communities, and that the media is to blame for perceptions that drive anti-criminal sentiment among voters.

“The media has helped with that, frankly, by showing every break-in that’s going on,” said Rep. Ash Kalra, D-San Jose. “It doesn’t show the wage theft going on and how people are being ripped off left and right, does it?”

“Because of MAGA people, MAGA law enforcement, MAGA media and MAGA politicians they want us to go back to those days where they could lock up as many black and brown people as possible,” said MP Reggie-Jones Sawyer , deputy in Los Angeles.

Prop. 36 has divided the Democratic Party, with state officials often lining up against the measure, while some high-profile municipal Democratic leaders have supported the measure, such as San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.

“You cannot end the era of the camps without ushering in the era of mass treatment. “Proposition 36 gives us that opportunity,” Mahan said of X.

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“Prop. 47 needs to be reformed because we’ve gone from mass incarceration to a massive failure of accountability,” Mahan continued on X. “And what we really need is mass treatment.”

California’s homeless population at last count was just over 180,000. While crime has declined in most of California, some of its cities have seen major increases in a very short period of time. In Oakland, for example, violent crime has doubled year over year, prompting California Gov. Gavin Newsom to send additional prosecutors from the California National Guard to help bring down more criminals more quickly.