Beverly Hills police chief: Liberal laws ‘decriminalized’ many crimes in California, released criminals
Mark Steinbrook discusses the impact of soft-on-crime policies in the wake of Jacqueline Avant’s death.
Beverly Hills’ police chief spoke out Tuesday following the shooting of Los Angeles-based philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, citing a "confluence’ of factors" in rising criminal activity, including liberal laws and policies that he says have decriminalized a multitude of crimes in California.
"I think this is a confluence of about 10 years of laws and policymaking starting with Prop 47, then AB 109, and Prop 57 which essentially decriminalized many of the crimes in California," said Mark Stainbrook during an appearance on "Fox & Friends."
Stainbrook, who became the new police chief only a week ago, noted that his second day on the job resulted in three armed robbery suspects being apprehended. One of the suspects was swiftly released from custody because he was a juvenile.
LOS ANGELES' DA GASCON STILL SILENT ON CRIME WAVE, PROSECUTOR SAYS
He said that despite "great technical systems" and a recently bolstered police presence the same criminals are being caught "over and over again" and released quickly without bail.
The police chief added that California voters were "sold a bill of goods" by politicians to believe that such laws would reduce the criminal population and create excess funds for programs dedicated to job placement, drug and alcohol treatment, mental illness, and housing.
"We just haven’t seen those services on the back-end to reduce crime," said Stainbrook.
Stainbrook concluded by asking for help from the public and politicians to change laws and policies, asserting that his officers are making the right arrests, but the criminals are too easily released.
Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark G. Stainbrook, left, addresses the media during a news conference, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jacqueline Avant, the wife of music legend Clarence Avant, was fatally shot in Beverly Hills early Wednesday. Second from left is Beverly Hills Mayor Robert Wunderlich. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Meanwhile, a retired LA County sheriff's deputy is taking the fight against soft-on-crime policies even further, launching an organization to recall Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon.
"In the last 30 years that I have been in law enforcement, I have never seen anything like this. Both a combination of the crime wave that we have, as well as the lack of support for law enforcement," Tania Owen told "Fox & Friends First" Tuesday morning.
She noted that she has never seen a DA fail to enforce the laws while simultaneously "fighting" for the criminals.
According to the LAPD, as of November 27 homicides are up 12.1% compared to the same time period in 2020. In the same timeframe, aggravated assaults have shot up 7.8% while robberies have risen 3.9%.