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Criminal justice reform advocates ousted California’s progressive district attorney this summer in an effort to roll back sentencing reform, focusing on reducing mass incarceration, prioritizing rehabilitation and holding police accountable for excessive force. He warned that it would undermine 10 years of efforts to pursue this goal.
By November, voters still weren’t listening.
In Los Angeles County, Nathan Hockman, a former federal prosecutor and former Republican, fired George Gascón as district attorney. Progressive Pamela Price has been recalled in Alameda County. Additionally, Proposition 36, which would extend jail and prison sentences for some drug and theft offenses, passed by double-digit margins in all but one of the state’s 58 counties.
These electoral defeats have some political strategists wondering whether reform-minded candidates need to recalibrate their messages. But many reform movement leaders and progressive prosecutors show no signs of backing down.
Roy Baer, a longtime consultant to Democratic campaigns in Los Angeles, said the perceived inability to find compromise on criminal justice issues is the answer to visible signs of unrest, such as snatch-and-burn robberies and open-air robberies. He warned that there was a risk of further alienating voters who wanted the same. Drug use on the streets.
“The choice was basically crackdown or time for reform. There was very little nuance in the back and forth,” Behr said. “Voters want police to act fairly and justly. They also want to be able to go to the store without worrying that someone might run up and do a smash or grab. I hope so.”
In the Los Angeles County district attorney race, Gascón stuck to his vision of restorative justice and alternatives to prison and opposed Prop. 36, even though polls showed broad public support for the measure.
After his victory, Hochman told the Times he believed his opponents and other progressives presented the public with a false dichotomy between reform and security.
Hochman spent much of his campaign positioning himself as someone who could restore justice in Los Angeles County, which he likened to Gascón’s “Gotham City,” but he didn’t believe he was just a “tough on crime” candidate. He denies the idea that it was. Criminal justice, he argues, is more complex than that.
“For the first time in a very long time, a centrist running as an independent won a race where the media and my opponents were trying to overly politicize the race by dividing it into different camps,” Hochman said. Ta. “What will ultimately happen is that the next four years will vindicate the idea that we don’t have to choose between prioritizing safety and introducing real and effective criminal justice reform. I think it will be.”
Hochman said he believes progressives have lost touch with the average California voter. He said Gascón was good at highlighting issues such as the need to prosecute police officers when they break the law and the over-incarceration of low-level criminals and non-violent drug users. They argued that they had done little to bring about change in the field.
“Gascon said it’s very progressive not to prosecute people who engage in drug use, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl use, but that about six homeless people die every day from overdoses.” He didn’t give any answers about the facts,” Hochman said. Said.
Gascón declined an interview request. But other California reform advocates rejected the idea that the election results were a repudiation of progressive policies.
Kristin Soto-DeBerry, executive director of the Prosecutors Alliance, which advocates for California’s progressive district attorneys, said the complaints about property crimes and homelessness that drove voters to support Prop. They argued that it expressed dissatisfaction with the judicial system as a whole.
Critics say prosecutors like Mr. Gascón and Mr. Price, who have often refused to file misdemeanor charges and have sought to keep most defendants out of jail before trial, have accused prosecutors like Mr. Gascón and Mr. Price — who have often refused to file misdemeanor charges and have sought to keep most defendants out of jail before trial — to arrest the spike in misdemeanor crimes such as shoplifting and auto burglary. point out that it may cause But DeBerry and others argue that police failure to make arrests is emboldening criminals.
According to California Department of Justice records, more than 9 million property crimes were reported in the state between 2014 and 2023. Records show police have solved about 711,000 of those cases statewide, less than 1 percent.
“These measures passed in full, and most counties in this state are run by very traditional, backward prosecutors, and voters said you’re not doing enough,” DeBerry said. said.
Tignish Hollins, executive director of the reform-focused nonprofit Californians for Safety and Justice, said Proposition 36 is “masquerading” as a way to provide treatment for substance use disorders. said. The bill was presented to voters as focusing on rehabilitation by including a provision that would give defendants the option of treatment or prison if they are convicted of a third addiction-related felony.
Ms Hollins said her biggest concern was that people who needed treatment would not be able to receive it under the new measures.
“County jails just become tanks for people who desperately need treatment,” she said.
Hollins said the reform movement “doesn’t need to rebrand” and will remain focused on reducing California’s “reliance on incarceration” even as the state enters a “whole new environment” after the election. said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and others say about a third of the 58 counties lack the funding needed to implement Prop. 36, specifically a lack of sufficient inpatient care beds. have expressed similar concerns.
A recent report from a nonpartisan research organization found that there is a statewide shortage of treatment beds for people with substance use disorders, with some facilities restricting treatment beds for people with prior involvement in the criminal justice system. It turned out that it was excluded.
California District Attorney Greg Totten said: He was one of the main architects of Prop. 36, and said funding concerns are overblown. He said there is “a lot of funding” for behavioral health services available from Proposition 1, the $6.4 billion mental health guarantee measure voters passed earlier this year. He also said outpatient treatment could be an option if inpatient facilities are full.
Some observers have noted that progressive prosecutors in other countries have had many successes, and while there are lessons to be learned from November’s results, long-term political campaigns are not without their ups and downs. He said he could not.
Ann Irwin, executive director of Smart Justice, an organization that educates policymakers about criminal justice reform, believes this election is just a “step backwards.”
Irwin pointed to an October poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Government that found a majority of voters who supported Prop. 36 also said they wanted to prioritize understanding the root causes of crime.
He also noted that many successful candidates this year have campaigned around the economy, a theme that intersects with Proposition 36. Retail chains including Walmart and Target were major donors, and their support came primarily from a profit and loss perspective.
Hockman successfully enlisted the support of business leaders such as Los Angeles shopping mall magnate Rick Caruso and small bakery owners to highlight the economic impact of property crime. Irwin said his “hard middle” approach, which prioritizes public safety and focuses on working with police to crack down on violent criminals without completely avoiding reform-oriented policies, also worked. spoke.
“The new and evolved Nathan Hockman touted his support for criminal justice reform,” she said. “Let’s see if that plays out with the policies and practices he implements in the district attorney’s office.”
Hochman’s campaign aside, Totten and other Proposition 36 supporters said voters simply rejected “bad policies” that undermined public safety.
Voters “didn’t feel safe,” Totten said. “They wanted change. I think the problem was that Californians were seeing product locked up, they were seeing thieves coming into stores and stealing. ”
The dramatic shift in California voter behavior regarding criminal justice is supported by data. Ten years ago, 59% of Californians voted in favor of California’s landmark punitive measure, Proposition 47. This year, 68% of voters supported Proposition 36, effectively repealing the 2014 measure.
Direct voter support has also increased significantly this year due to increased turnout. More than 10 million Californians voted to pass Proposition 36, compared to just 3.7 million who voted to support the measure in 2014, according to Secretary of State records.
Voters may have spoken, but DeBerry said the election results “do not change the values” of progressive prosecutors. She urged Californians to keep an eye on crime data in the coming years and to hold policies and politicians accountable when their methods fail to make an impact.
“After this election cycle, they’re going to own everything,” she said. “So when you see drug use not going down, prison populations are exploding, and crime continues to exist, voters, the media, and everyone say, ‘You promised this is the solution, but it’s not good. I hope you’ll say “No.”
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