By Joshua Stickney, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
As a push is underway in the 2024 election to revive failed “tough on crime” policies, a broad coalition of healthcare, union, and criminal justice organizations has successfully moved forward with legislation that offers proven solutions to address timely issues for all Californians.
The #SmartSolutions public safety policy platform — supported by a total of 32 organizations including Courage California, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Fair Chance Project, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Smart Justice California, and more — uplifted solutions to deliver on the promise of justice, accountability, and safety for all Californians.
The 29 bills in the platform focused on policies that offer tools to not only prevent crime using rehabilitative supports but also expand housing and treatment services and utilize our state’s precious resources to address the root causes of crime and improve safety for all.
Of the original bills in this package, 21 cleared the legislature (~72%). Four of the bills have already been signed into law, including SB 1144 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), which will aim to disrupt the sale of stolen goods online to stop organized retail theft rings from reselling merchandise on online marketplaces.
Now, 17 bills are on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk awaiting a signature. These include AB 2215 by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), which will improve community safety and slow recidivism by connecting people with supportive drug and mental health treatment and clarifying that police may transport a person to a treatment program or community service agency instead of jail. Other bills on the governor’s desk aim to support survivors of crime, including AB 2499 by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita), which will address gaps in current labor laws that leave crime victims without protections by ensuring that survivors have time to heal with unpaid sick leave after violent or traumatic events. The governor has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto these bills.
While moving bills through the legislative process is always a challenge, the 2023-2024 legislative session saw an extreme uptick in the number of overly punitive bills introduced. To combat these so-called solutions to drug and retail theft-related issues, the #SmartSolutions platform gave lawmakers, lobbyists, advocates, and community members alternatives that would combat the attempts to move California backward on criminal legal reforms. The supporting organizations held press conferences and lobby days to educate the Capitol community about evidence-based alternatives to the bills that relied on incarceration and punishment.
The need for #SmartSolutions remains timely and urgent. Many Californians are concerned that policies being placed before voters, like Prop 36, represent a rollback of policies that have helped thousands of formerly and currently incarcerated people. Prop 36 could incarcerate at least 1 million more people by cracking down on convictions for retail theft and drug-related offenses and emphasizing possible enhancements for low-level charges.
The #SmartSolutions campaign is rooted in evidence-driven, effective approaches to safety and justice.
As California faces a nearly $70 billion budget deficit, we call on state leaders to focus limited resources on smart solutions that address the root causes of crime and actually keep our communities safe. What we’re interested in are solutions – not politics or fear-mongering.
“With California facing a multi-billion dollar deficit this year now is not the time to turn back the clock on progress and repeat costly mistakes of the past. Now is the time to double down on smart solutions that work.”
—#SmartSolutions Public Safety Policy Platform
Call to Action
We encourage people who are concerned about the “tough on crime” bills moving through the legislature to contact their representatives and talk to others about the #SmartSolutions package and why they need public support.
These bills are based on evidence-driven approaches from a wide variety of advocates and experts who work with directly with people who would be directly impacted by overly punitive policies. But we also call on the public to support this effort by demanding accountability from state lawmakers and asking them to pay attention to the data that shows the success of these reform-focused programs rather than falling back on policies we already know don’t work and don’t make Californians safer. If California policymakers are serious about safety, they need to double down on smart, community-centered solutions to create accountability combined with lasting justice.
Find out more about #SmartSolutions at https://smartsolutionsca.org/
Blog contributor: Joshua Stickney, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights