Unintended consequence of Prop. 47 — more crime
By Cindy Chang, Marisa Gerber and Ben Poston, Los Angeles Times
Semisi Sina has kept sheriff’s deputies busy in the last year.
The 30-year-old has stolen bicycles from his Hacienda Heights neighborhood. He has skipped out on drug treatment and kept up his meth habit.
He has racked up 16 arrests, earning himself a place near the top of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s list of repeat offenders picked up for theft or drug use. And he says a new law has made it easier for him to commit crimes.
“Now, you can get away with it because of Proposition 47,” Sina said recently in an interview at his parents’ home.
One year after voters approved the landmark ballot measure, Proposition 47 has dramatically altered California’s criminal justice landscape.