By Andrew Sheeler | Sacramento Bee
Proposition 47 achieved its goal of decreasing incarceration by reclassifying certain drug- and theft-related felony offenses as misdemeanors, but contributed to a rise in property crime as a result.
That’s the finding of a newly released Public Policy Institute of California report that looked at the impact of the ballot measure nearly a decade after it passed.
The findings come as California voters are preparing to decide the fate of Proposition 36, which would roll back many of Prop. 47’s reforms. The report found that felony arrests for drug and property offenses dropped after Prop. 47 passed, though misdemeanor drug arrests rose significantly in that same time span.
The clearance rate — which measures how many crimes resulted in an arrest and referral for prosecution — also dropped for property crimes after Prop. 47 became law, dropping from 14% to 11% two years after and then dropping down to 7% in 2022, during the pandemic, according to PPIC, which looked at the data.
Read more at: Sacramento Bee
