The union representing officers with the Inglewood Police Department issued the following statement on the New Bail Schedule that takes effect October 1st.
Related: Zero cash bail to blame for ‘brazen’ smash and grab robberies in LA, police union says
Los Angeles County took an appalling step forward in the New Bail Schedule, effective October 1st, 2023. “Instead of assigning money bail amount to non-violent felonies and misdemeanors, a majority of arrestees will now be released at the location of the arrest (cite & release) or booked in jail, and then released on their own recognizance with a citation for a future court date (book & release).”
Essentially, you can commit any “petty” misdemeanor or felony crime, and we can only give you a cite and release ticket. You’ll then promise to appear on the court date like your average traffic ticket. Currently, tickets are cited about 113 days in advance. We imagine that number will rise. So, if you were arrested at the time of this post, your court date would be January 5, 2024.
We don’t understand how it is supposed to deter or stop crime. We certainly don’t see this as a good thing for the County of Los Angeles or the City of Inglewood. It’s lunacy, and the people of this county have front-row seats to this decision, courtesy of the Superior Court of Los Angeles.
-IPOA Board
Seven candidates have filed to run against current Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon with many citing their prosecution records and intent to “undo” directives ordered by Gascon if elected.
There is also growing sentiment around social media through a #RepealProp47 hashtag that wants the law overturned.
Under Prop 47, all theft crimes involving property worth $950 or less will be charged as petty theft regardless of the item’s nature. Petty theft is a misdemeanor whose maximum sentence is six months in county jail. Sometimes, the court may spare you from incarceration by sending you to informal probation.
The law was co-written by Gascon and Michael Romano, with the Stanford Justice Advocacy Project, and supported by the Editorial Boards of the Los Angeles Times and New York Times.
According to Romano, Prop 47 was supposed to “…in the long term, [through the] reallocation of resources should significantly improve public safety” and unfortunately it has done the opposite.
Crime has gotten so out of control in the city of Lancaster, the mayor and council created its own police department which will work alongside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department due in part to the “defund the police” movement.
“It’s my obligation to keep the families in Lancaster safe,” Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said. “I take it very seriously. And quite frankly I do not care who I offend. You cannot defund the police and have a safe society.”
