Voters in the state of California approved Proposition 36, a measure that increases penalties for many crimes related to drugs and theft, in an apparent rejection of soft-on-crime policies.
Proposition 36, which passed with an overwhelming 70% majority of the vote, increased sentence lengths and the severity of many drug crimes, as well as added fentanyl to the list of drugs which induce a felony charge when possessed alongside a loaded firearm. The measure also made the crime of stealing money or property worth $950 or less a felony with two or more prior convictions related to theft, including possible punishments of three years in prison.
California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom opposed Proposition 36 and claimed that the measure would lead to “mass incarceration” in the state. Yet some officials, such as San Jose Democratic Mayor Matt Mahan and San Francisco Democratic Mayor London Breed, supported Proposition 36, with the latter saying the measure would “make a meaningful difference.”
One coalition of several dozen criminal justice organizations that support reducing the number of imprisoned people in California denounced a lack of tangible support from Newsom and other officials in a statement about the success of Proposition 36, saying that they still desire to “reduce toxic incarceration and to fight for a future rooted in community and dignity.”
The approval of Proposition 36 comes one decade after California residents approved Proposition 47, which had decreased certain drug crimes to misdemeanors, as well as reclassified property crime with amounts under $950 as misdemeanors instead of felonies.
California witnessed a spike in violent crime amid the lockdown-induced recession as officials and activists across the state pushed for defunding the police and implementing criminal justice reform, calls which some progressive groups have since reversed as a result of the crime wave.
Many restaurants, shopping centers, and convenience stores continue to leave certain neighborhoods in major urban areas amid persistent theft and property crime. San Francisco has witnessed consumer brands shutter locations throughout the city in recent years.