One of the most basic responsibilities of government is to maintain law and order. This is especially true for a legislative panel that calls itself the Assembly “Public Safety” Committee. Unfortunately, it seems more concerned about prisoners than the peace and safety of law-abiding Californians.
Recently, I presented two common-sense bills – at least I thought they were common-sense – to the committee for its consideration. But the committee killed them faster than a repeat sex offender is released from prison.
The first bill, Assembly Bill 63, would send parolees who cut off their electronic monitoring device back to state prison. I introduced AB 63 in response to a paroled sex offender accused of raping a Fresno State student, a story that generated much outrage in our community. This criminal had been arrested 23 times over a 22-year period and cut off his monitoring device eight days before he attacked the student.
He cut off his device perhaps knowing he would not face serious consequences. It is an open secret among parolees that cutting or tampering with their tracking devices result in little to no punishment. Governor Brown’s realignment law has sent tens of thousands of inmates from state prison to local lockups like Fresno County’s jail. AB 63 would have ensured that criminals who destroy their devices are punished.
My second bill, Assembly Bill 1123, would remove a loophole in punishing gang-related felons. It would have allowed for additional punishment of a gang member who commits a felony that is one of the gang’s primary activities. Under current law, it is not possible for a gang member to be prosecuted with a gang enhancement when committing a felony crime alone.
The only exception is if there is direct evidence that they were aiding and abetting another gang member. This exception is too narrow and enables some gang members to escape harsher punishment because they were not acting with their accomplices at a particular point in time. Additionally, AB 1123 would have restored the ability of the state to sentence gang felons to state prison, rather than local jails. This would keep gang members out of our neighborhoods and away from our families and loved one.
But solid facts did not sway the extreme left-wing politicians who control the Assembly Public Safety Committee. I was scolded by these members that my solutions would put more people in state prison and do not fit into the Governor’s realignment plan. Of course they did not. That’s precisely why I proposed them. Criminals like these belong in state prison and the Governor’s early release, revolving-door prison plan is deeply flawed and recklessly dangerous.
I agree that the state must do a better job managing its prisons. I also recognize the fact that liberal judges are pushing the state to reduce its prison population. But this should not paralyze the state in protecting law-abiding citizens and passing laws that would help prevent future crimes. We should all be working to find ways to keep the most dangerous felons behind bars, not looking for ways to set them free.
Protecting Californians from dangerous criminals is not a partisan issue – it is a public safety issue that affects everyone. It is an appalling fact that the Democrat controlled Public Safety Committee has become infamous for killing tough-on-crime bills and has let its irrational favoritism for prisoners ignore concerns for the safety of the rest of us.