Outgoing Los Angeles (LA) County District Attorney George Gascón’s massive defeat is part of a larger realignment among voters who now believe progressive policies jeopardize public safety, locals told Fox News Digital.
California residents voted in November to roll back portions of Proposition 47, a referendum championed by Gascón that, among other things, lowered some theft and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.
Their overwhelming support for Proposition 36 increased the penalty for many theft and drug crimes. The ballot measure also creates a new treatment-focused court process for drug possession crimes. It requires courts to warn dealers they may be charged with murder in the event of a fatal overdose.
Offenders with multiple misdemeanors could also see their charges turned into a felony.
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LA Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami told Fox News Digital that these changes, spurned by voter concerns regarding crime, will be essential to punish the perpetrators of smash-and-grab robberies. Previously, robberies were classified as misdemeanors if the amount stolen was valued below $950. Now, each instance of burglary is added to a total sum that is more likely to warrant a higher sentence.
Large groups who engage in smash-and-grab robberies can also be charged together under California’s criminal conspiracy laws.
“I think that this will help law enforcement bring up their morale, knowing that you’re not going to have this revolving door of individuals who keep getting arrested and released,” Hatami said.
However, he insisted that law enforcement needs to feel like DAs will follow through on charges and prosecute these crimes. Voters, Hatami added, also must “keep their foot on the gas” and continue to push back against “activist” DAs who “decide they’re not going to enforce the law because they don’t believe in it.”
“I think overall, as a country, I think progressive prosecutors need to know that they’re on notice, that most of us do not want those types of prosecutors,” he said. “We want actual DAs who do have empathy and who do care and want to help others, but their number one job is making sure everyone is safe.”
Unfortunately, LA still faces a number of grim public safety issues, including home burglaries, sex trafficking and child abuse. Hatami also highlighted concerns over gun violence and bail.
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He suggested that “Gascón destroyed [LA County’s] bail system” and prosecutors need to understand the job is not “making sure you’re fair for the criminal.” But instead, “it’s making sure you’re fair for” for all citizens.
Venice Neighborhood Council Board Member Soledad Ursua told Fox News Digital that Gascón’s defeat is a “huge step” for LA County, citing public safety as the “number one concern” for most voters in the area.
According to Ursua, there have been significant acts of violence in recent months, especially on the metro public transport system. Elements of the drug addiction crisis and the homeless crisis have also seeped out into the streets of Venice Beach.
“Many people go jogging in the morning on the boardwalk. There have been serious incidents where homeless men have attacked women joggers in the morning. There was one that happened just a few months ago. A woman who was running at 7 AM, a man jumped out, dragged her by her hair and pulled her into the bathrooms to try to rape her,” Ursua said.
She noted that many individuals experiencing homelessness in the area are out-of-state-transients with extensive criminal records.
“They end up in California because everything is legal,” Ursua added. “We legalized all crime. And so, someone like that may only serve a month or two. He will be back on the streets and, you know, ready to commit other crimes.”
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Furthermore, Ursua said officers called to crime scenes have admitted their “hands are tied”—pointing to laws such as Prop 47. Ursua said she thinks the ousting of Gascón and implementing Prop 36 will eventually lead to more arrests and harsher consequences.
“I don’t think this is really a right-wing issue. This is common sense. Hopefully, people are waking up, and they realize that these progressive policies have just devastated and destroyed neighborhoods,” she said.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has struggled to attract new talent, with many established officers petering out through attrition. The force in 2023 fell to its lowest level in decades.
Ursua claimed that some neighbors have decided not to report crimes because of extensive wait times when dialing the non-emergency hotline.
“When our elected officials say that crime is down, they’re sort of lying because it’s reported crime that’s down,” she said. “People no longer will call the police because they won’t even show up. What’s going on now is the police will not respond unless someone is getting stabbed or shot. That’s just how overwhelmed they are.”
Ursua said that many crimes involving the destruction or stealing of property are going unsolved as police have shifted the bulk of resources to violent crime. Retailers like Target have been forced to lock up large swathes of products. Car owners have also grown worried after a group of homeless men set fire to trash and vehicles.
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“When something like a vehicle is being destroyed, this is considered a property crime. In Los Angeles, we have just dismissed property crimes as victimless crimes, and they’re largely ignored,” she said.
Despite vocal concerns about public safety, Ursua said elected officials in LA are still lurching forward on a “progressive warpath,”.
LA city lawmakers voted Tuesday to formally adopt a sanctuary city ordinance, weeks after President-elect Trump’s victory, amid promises to carry out mass deportation raids.
The 13-0 vote will prohibit LA from providing any city resources or personnel to be used to help federal enforcement of immigration laws.
For now, Ursua and Hatami are celebrating voters’ rebuke of progressive policymakers and controversial criminal justice reforms.
Ursua remains optimistic that the recent push by voters to “restore common sense and law and order” will have a positive impact.
Hatami confidently proclaimed the defeat of Gascón was not just a victory for the people of LA but also for other deputy DAs, police officers, and victims who felt “unsafe” under his directives.
Gascón lost reelection by over 20 points after surviving a recall effort in 2022. Hatami suggested that the effort failed because of the vast number of signatures necessary to initiate a recall on the ballot.
He said that since then, there has been a large “groundswell of support” to get rid of the outgoing DA, noting that the political “pendulum swings” quickly in the United States.
“I think Prop 36 shows the same thing,” Hatami added. “You know, Prop 47 passed resoundingly in 2014. And so, to have that many people come out in 2024 and say, you know, that was a bad law, that was a bad proposition and needs to be fixed. It shows that you know, peoples’—their opinion is changing and changing fast.”
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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