Looks to reduce costs, make safer communities
by Brian Leubitz
San Francisco has a strong record of trying to work to prioritize rehabilitation over retribution when it comes to sentencing. Sheriff Mike Hennessey, the current and prior DA, as well as a number of other elected leaders have tried to prioritize making our community safer. Sen. Leno also has a track record in the Legislature to prove that.
Senator Mark Leno has introduced new legislation that reforms California’s drug sentencing laws for simple possession. SB 649 allows counties to significantly reduce incarceration costs by giving prosecutors the flexibility to charge low-level, non-violent drug offenses as misdemeanors instead of felonies. The bill also gives judges discretion to deem a non-violent drug possession offense to be either a misdemeanor or felony after consideration of the offense and the defendant’s record. SB 649, which does not apply to anyone involved in selling, manufacturing or possessing drugs for sale, will help alleviate overcrowding in county jails, ease pressure on California’s court system and result in millions of dollars in annual savings for local governments.
“If we want safer communities, our collective goal for low-level drug offenders should be helping to ensure that they get the rehabilitation they need to successfully reenter their communities,” said Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. “Instead, we sentence them to long terms, offer them no treatment while incarcerated and release them back into our communities with few job prospects. This proposal gives prosecutors the option to reduce penalties so counties can reinvest in proven alternatives that would benefit minor offenders and save limited jail space for serious criminals.”
In addition to providing greater opportunity for post-release success, Sen. Leno hopes to also use the opportunity to reduce spending on jails and prisons. The LAO has estimated that reducing jail time for simple drug possession offenses could save hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few years. If the rehabilitation services are provided smoothly, this has the potential of being a win-win for the state.
However, given the history of this kind of legislation in the past, look for strong resistance as the bill proceeds through the Legislature.
This strikes me as a reasonable and cost-effective piece of legislation. It is exactly what we wish came before our Legislature more often- good public policy that we can afford.
So when Brian writes “…look for strong resistance as the bill proceeds through the Legislature”, I got to thinking about where and why.
There may still be some folks who consider all recreational drug users to be Violent Felons-in-Training who would resist this legislation as giving in to “them druggies”. Hopefully, this is a fringe group (and undoubtedly in the Republican corner).
Then there may be the money interests. Who benefits from full county jails? Prosecutors who want high conviction rates to show for their next election? Trial lawyers? How about the Cal. Correctional Officers union (CCPOA)?
Let’s watch for opposition and see if we can isolate the why- because there really should not be much public policy opposition, at least IMHO.
Will heroin possession become a misdemeanor ?
How about ‘speed’ possession ?
GEE
I wonder why Democrats keep getting called
‘soft on crime’ ??