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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC-1 Mayor Reqeust - Resolution No. 2019-C35 Keep CA Safe InitiativeC-1 RESOLUTION NO. 2019-C35 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA SUPPPORTING THE REDUCING CRIME AND KEEPING CALIFORNIA SAFE ACT OF 2020. WHEREAS, protecting every person in our state, including our most vulnerable children, from violent crime is of the utmost importance. Murderers, rapists, child molesters and other violent criminals should not be released early from prison; and WHEREAS, since 2014, California has had a larger increase in violent crime than the rest of the United States. Since 2013, violent crime in Los Angeles has increased 69.5%. Violent crime in Sacramento rose faster during the first six months of 2015 than in any of the 25 largest U.S. cities tracked by the FBI; and WHEREAS, The FBI Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report for 2019, which tracks crimes committed during the first six months of the past year in U.S. cities with populations over 100,000, indicates the last year violent crime increased again in most of California’s largest cities. WHEREAS, recent changes to parole laws allowed the early release of dangerous criminals by the law’s failure to define certain crimes as “violent.” These changes allowed individuals convicted of sex trafficking of children, rape of an unconscious person, felony assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a police officer or firefighter, and felony domestic violence to be considered “nonviolent offenders.”; and WHEREAS, as a result these so-called “non-violent” offenders are eligible for early release from prison after serving only a fraction of the sentence ordered by a judge; and WHEREAS, violent offenders are also being allowed to remain free in our communities even when they commit new crimes and violate the terms or their post release community supervision, like the gang member charged with the murder of Whittier Police Officer, Keith Boyer; and WHEREAS, this measure reforms the law so felons who violate the terms of their release can be brought back to court and held accountable for such violations; and WHEREAS, nothing in this act is intended to create additional “strike” offenses which would increase the state prison population, nor is it intended to affect the ability of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to award educational and merit credits; and WHEREAS, recent changes to California law allow individuals who steal repeatedly to face few consequences, regardless of their criminal record or how many times they steal; and WHEREAS, as a result, between 2014 and 2016, California had the 2nd highest increase in theft and property crimes in the United States, while most states have seen a steady decline. According to the California Department of Justice, the value of property stolen in 2015 was $2.5 billion with an increase of 13 percent since 2014, the largest single-year increase in at least ten years; and WHEREAS, grocery store operators around the state have seen unprecedented increase in the amount of losses associated with shoplifting in their stores, with some reporting up to 150% increases in these losses from 2012 to present, with the largest jumps occurring since 2014; and WHEREAS, shoplifting incidents have started to escalate in such a manner that have endangered innocent customers and employees; and WHEREAS, individuals who repeatedly steal often do so to support their drug habit. Recent changes to California law have reduced judges’ ability to order individuals convicted of repeated theft crimes into effective drug treatment programs; and WHEREAS, California needs stronger laws for those who are repeatedly convicted of theft related crimes, which will encourage those who repeatedly steal to support their drug problem to enter into existing drug treatment programs. This measure enacts such reforms; and WHEREAS, collecting DNA from criminals is essential to solving violent crimes. Over 450 violent crimes including murder, rape and robbery have gone unsolved because DNA is being collected from fewer criminals; and WHEREAS, DNA collected in 2015 from a convicted child molester solved the rape-murders of two six-year-old boys that occurred three decades ago in Los Angeles County. DNA collected in 2016 from an individual caught driving a stolen car solved the 2012 San Francisco Bay Area rape/murder of an 83-year-old woman; and WHEREAS, recent changes to California law unintentionally eliminated DNA collection for theft and drug crimes. This measure restores DNA collection from persons convicted for such offenses; and WHEREAS, permitting collection of more DNA samples will help identify suspects, clear the innocent and free the wrongly convicted, and WHEREAS, this measure does not affect existing legal safeguards that protect the privacy of individuals by allowing for the removal of their DNA profile if they are not charged with a crime, are acquitted or are found innocent. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Azusa hereby supports the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2020.