Like Being Hit By Lightning By the Association of Deputy District Attorneys
By Michele Hanisee
Prop 47 ushered in an increase in property crime statewide because many theft offenses were made inconsequential misdemeanors that carried little likelihood of incarceration. Last month the Public Policy Institute of California conceded that Prop 47 was responsible for an increase in larceny rates statewide. That increase, they reported, was 9% higher than that of similar states. In 2017 there were only 34,800 arrests statewide for petty theft. That is the lowest number of arrests in the 15 years of arrest data available online from the California Department of Justice.
Michele Hanisee is President of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, the collective bargaining agent representing nearly 1,000 Deputy District Attorneys who work for the County of Los Angeles.