This article was originally published in the Press Democrat
Editorials represent the views of The Press Democrat editorial board and The Press Democrat as an institution. The editorial board and the newsroom operate separately and independently of one another.
Proposition 36 will provide a needed course correction for California. If approved by voters, it would provide police and prosecutors with better tools to crack down on repeat retail theft and fentanyl trafficking. It does this while keeping in place much of California’s recent criminal justice reforms. We recommend that voters support Prop. 36.
The Press Democrat editorial board endorsed Proposition 47 in 2014 because it emphasized crime prevention over recidivism, met a federal court order to reduce prison crowding and saved taxpayer dollars. It largely succeeded in those latter two areas, but less so with crime prevention. Since reclassifying some felony theft and drug crimes into misdemeanors, retail theft — including headline-grabbing smash-and-grabs — has soared and a fentanyl epidemic has overtaken the state.
The state lacks in-depth data on retail crime, but other data indicate the need for the justice reform pendulum to swing back to the center. Since Prop. 47 passed, most theft under $950 has been treated as a misdemeanor with the maximum punishment reduced from three years in state prison to six months in the county jail. It is almost certainly not a coincidence that shoplifting increased 28% from 2019 to 2023
It has been a problem, locally, too. During the first eight months of this year, there were 249 shoplifting incidents reported to the Santa Rosa Police Department compared with 151 during the same period last year, a 65% increase. As of Aug. 31, there also had been 30 reports of organized retail theft, compared with 29 during all last year.
Meanwhile, the number of Californians dying from drug overdoses more than doubled from 2014 to 2022 to nearly 11,000. The majority were fentanyl-related.
Those numbers underscore why Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez and Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley back Prop. 36.
Prop. 36 makes modest changes in how crimes are handled. Theft of items worth $950 or less would be treated as a felony if the defendant had two previous theft convictions, such as for shoplifting, burglary or carjacking. In response to the proliferation of retail theft rings, sentences could be longer if three or more people jointly had committed the theft or property damage.
On the drug front, courts would warn people that they could face murder charges if they provide illegal drugs that kill someone. People selling fentanyl and certain other illicit drugs could face longer prison sentences. Some drug users charged with a felony could have the charge dismissed if they completed treatment.
For this to work as promised, the state will need to make the necessary investments in expand treatment options.
Frustrated Californians put Prop. 36 on the ballot because the state’s leaders showed neither political will nor a grasp of what people have endured.
Contrary to opponents’ claims, Prop. 36 will not reignite the War on Drugs. That said, the yes campaign does tread recklessly in billing the measure as the “Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act,” perpetuating the myth that every homeless individual is an addict and criminal.
But bad marketing doesn’t change a measure’s good content. Prop. 36 will provide a correction for criminal laws that have swung too far. It deserves voters’ support.