Crime

Obama: People Should Be Punished, But Not Sentenced to Life

Published

9 years ago

July 16, 2015

Ryan J. Reilly, The Huffington Post

The criminal justice system is “particularly skewed by race and by wealth,” President Barack Obama said on Tuesday in a speech at the NAACP Annual Convention in Philadelphia, citing a “long history of inequity in the criminal justice system in America.”

“The eyes of more Americans have been opened to this truth, partly because of cameras, partly because of tragedy, partly because the statistics cannot be ignored. We cannot close our eyes anymore,” he said.

Obama said reducing inequality and investing in education would ultimately reduce crime and benefit future generations of Americans. “I believe crime is like any other epidemic: the best time to stop it is before it starts,” he said.

Getting a teenager a job for the summer costs a fraction of what it costs to lock him up for 15 years, the president said. “If we make investments early in our children, we will reduce the need to incarcerate those kids.”

He also emphasized that not all kids have the same opportunities, referencing the fact that young people of color are disproportionately represented in the juvenile criminal justice system.

“What doesn’t make sense is treating entire neighborhoods as danger zones,” Obama said. “The kids there are American kids, just like your kids and my kids.”

Calling parents to deal with one set of kids and calling the police on another set of kids isn’t the “right thing to do,” he added. “Don’t just tag them as future criminals, reach out to them as future citizens.”

The Obama administration has been pushing for criminal justice reform in recent years, with former Attorney General Eric Holder launching initiatives to change the approach federal prosecutors took to certain drug crimes, encouraging diversion programs that would give particular defendants second chances, and calling attention to community policing initiatives.

There is bipartisan support for criminal justice reform, Obama said in his speech, adding that some “unlikely bedfellows” — such as billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch — support change.

Obama also said he had asked Attorney General Loretta Lynch to look at conditions of solitary confinement. He also called for the restoration of voting rights for former felons.

“I don’t want to pretend that this is all easy, but some places are doing better than others,” Obama said. “In far too many cases, the punishment simply does not fit the crime.”

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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California Black Media

Anti-Theft Bill with Jail-Time Requirement Gets Wide Ranging Support

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24. Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman speaks as Asm. James Ramos (D-San Bernardino), left, stands beside him at a news conference in Sacramento concerning retail theft across the state.

By California Black Media

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24.

Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Co-authored by Assemblymembers James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) and Devon Mathis (R-Tulare), AB 1772 would require jail time “of one to three years for theft crimes depending upon the circumstances.

“Offenses would include grand theft, theft from an elder or dependent adult, theft or unauthorized use of a vehicle, burglary, carjacking, robbery, receiving stolen property, shoplifting or mail theft,” the bill language reads.

Ramos said the need to act is urgent.

“It’s time for us to reverse the spikes in theft crimes since the pandemic. Our law enforcement members and district attorneys need additional tools such as AB 1772. We must reverse the trend before the problem grows worse. Last year I requested a state audit of the impact of Prop 47 on Riverside and San Bernardino counties,” said Ramos.

Prop 47 is the California initiative, approved by voters in 2014, that reclassified some felonies to misdemeanors and raised the minimum amount for most misdemeanor thefts from $400 to $950.

According to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report, the rate of occurrence of petty crimes like shoplifting and commercial burglaries have increased by double digits over the last four years.

In Orange County alone, commercial burglaries have spiked by 54%.

“Our communities are experiencing an increase in retail crime and deserve appropriate action from their legislators,” Valencia said.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus thanked Ramos.

“This bill, designed to impose stricter penalties on serial retail theft suspects, responds urgently to the escalating consequences of shoplifting and related crimes on our communities,” he said.

AB 1772 supporters who spoke at the gathering included Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper and San Bernardino Chief of Police Darren Goodman. Listed as supporters are the California State Sheriff’s Association, City of Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez and Redlands Chamber of Commerce.