Crime rates have come down from a pandemic-era spike, but voters in several states are considering ballot measures that promote tougher policies on crime.
A ballot initiative in California that would stiffen penalties for drug crimes and theft is likely to pass with more than two-thirds support, polls indicate.
The measure is a reaction to fentanyl abuse, “an explosion” in homelessness perhaps driven partially by drug use and retail theft that “has gotten out of control,” says Greg Totten of the California District Attorneys Association, which sponsored Proposition 36, reports Governing.
He describes the initiative as a course correction to Proposition 47, a criminal justice reform measure passed a decade ago that lowered penalties for certain nonviolent offenses to reduce incarceration rates. “This is not a huge swing to a ‘get tough, lock ‘em up’ kind of initiative of the past,” Totten says. “This is a very modest, thoughtfully drafted movement toward the center.”
The measure divides Democrats, drawing opposition from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who signed a package of bills designed to crack down on retail theft. Democratic mayors, including those in San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose, have endorsed Proposition 36.
Opponents object that the measure will undo progress made through Proposition 47’s funding for mental health and substance use disorder programs that deter crime. “Proposition 36 is exploiting Californians’ valid and understandable fears that some issues have gotten worse in recent years … without actually offering real solutions,” says Insha Rahman of Vera Action, which supports criminal justice reform efforts.
Voters appear to be in a mood to support a measure that promises to reduce crime. On Tuesday, voters in Arizona and Colorado will also decide anti-crime measures addressing sex trafficking, parole and police funding.
Several states are also considering more progressive measures, including legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes in Florida and the Dakotas and psychedelics in Massachusetts. California and Nevada could join seven states that have voted to remove language from their constitutions allowing forced labor as punishment for crimes.
Taken as a whole, this year’s crop of mostly tough-on-crime ballot measures may signal that voters are taking a conservative turn on the issue. The reality of these ballot questions is that voters are often facing a binary choice between tougher sentencing or the status quo.
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