A criminal-justice reform ballot initiative California passed ten years ago produced higher crime rates and exacerbated drug abuse problems, according to The Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank.
The Manhattan Institute released a study this week showing how criminal behavior went up and drug abuse worsened because of Proposition 47, a measure passed in 2014 that downgraded penalties for various “petty” criminal offenses.
In 2014, California voters approved the criminal justice reform measure, Proposition 47 (“Prop 47”), with almost 60% support. Ten years later, California voters are now considering rolling back some of its soft-on-crime policies. Prop 47 identified six “petty” crimes—grand theft, larceny, personal drug use, forgery, and two types of check fraud—and reclassified them. It downgraded these crimes, including thefts with property values under $950 and illegal drug possession for personal use, from felonies to misdemeanors.
You can read the study here.
