(I think Goldberg is wrong. The 'progressive'
prosecutors were letting too much slide.
Pete Holmes had 12 years to try to accomplish his
dreams = our trashpit!
https://crosscut.com/news/2021/08/seattle-city-attorney-pete-holmes-concedes-primary-election
)

from
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-03-03/progressive-prosecutors-george-gascon-recall

Column: We’re swinging back toward ‘tough-on-crime’ before progressive
reforms have had a chance

A supporter embraces Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón
Los Angeles Dist. Atty. George Gascón after a news conference on the
steps of the Hall of Justice in June.(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
BY NICHOLAS GOLDBERGCOLUMNIST

MARCH 3, 2022 3 AM PT
Los Angeles Dist. Atty. George Gascón, the cop-turned-reformer who came
to office in 2020 promising to transform the justice system so it “works
for everyone,” is fighting for his political life.

There’s a movement underway to recall him, and its backers say they’ve
already raised $2.7 million. He is opposed by hundreds of rank-and-file
prosecutors in his own office, who voted nearly unanimously last week to
support his ouster.

Even his longtime friend and colleague, former LAPD Chief Charlie Beck,
recently rescinded his endorsement. Mayoral candidate Rick Caruso says
Gascón’s progressive policies have “put people at risk and made our
communities more dangerous,” and he recently contributed $50,000 to the
recall effort.

On the defensive, Gascón reversed course and said he would allow minors
to be tried as adults in certain cases. He then rescinded another
policy, saying prosecutors could now in some situations seek life
sentences without parole for murder defendants.

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But those moves satisfied few people on either the right or the left.

Stipple-style portrait illustration of Nicholas Goldberg
OPINION COLUMNIST

Nicholas Goldberg

Nicholas Goldberg served 11 years as editor of the editorial page and is
a former editor of the Op-Ed page and Sunday Opinion section.

Read more from Nicholas Goldberg
Gascón’s travails are substantial, but at least he can take comfort in
the fact that he’s not alone. All around the country, progressive
prosecutors who were winning elections just a few years ago by promising
to undo the tough-on-crime policies of previous decades are under fire,
struggling to keep their jobs in the face of rising violent crime rates
and a growing political backlash.

In San Francisco, Dist. Atty. Chesa Boudin faces a tough recall election
in June. Boudin, who was elected in 2019, is being accused of coddling
criminals and being “anti-cop,” among others things. Even San Francisco
Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, has gone after him. That’s not a
promising sign.

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In New York City, newly elected progressive prosecutor Alvin Bragg is
butting heads with the new mayor, Eric Adams. Bragg’s instruction to
prosecutors in his office not to seek jail or prison time for defendants
in any but the most serious crimes didn’t go over well with City Hall.

Los Angeles, California-Dec. 8, 2021-Los Angeles District Attorney
George Gascon speaks during an end-of-year press conference to discuss
his first year in office on Dec. 8, 2021. D.A. Gascon is flanked by a
number of progressive D.A.'s from around the country including Boston
D.A. Rachel Rollins. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
CALIFORNIA

The George Gascón factor in L.A. mayor’s race: Caruso, Buscaino back the
recall

Feb. 28, 2022

In Philadelphia, Dist. Atty. Larry Krasner was easily reelected in
November, but in a race where opponents painted him as “radically
dangerous” and blamed him for the rise in violent crime.

It’s a troubling state of affairs.

Progressive prosecutors have made their share of mistakes and, at times,
have moved too quickly or in a tone-deaf way, often failing to explain
their reforms to the public.

But Gascón and his fellow reformers have started a policy discussion
that badly needs to be had. They’ve made changes that can’t be judged
successes or failures yet.

The move to undermine these elected officials or toss them out in the
middle of their terms is too-often driven less by facts than by emotion,
fear and vague perceptions about rising crime. Political pressure comes
from law enforcement’s old guard — including police unions,
rank-and-file prosecutors and crime victims’ groups — who are often
pushing anecdotes rather than data, scare stories meant to encourage a
return to the familiar, throw-away-the-key policies they believe in.

In this Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, photo, former San Francisco District
Attorney George Gascon speaks at a Los Angeles County Democratic Party
news conference outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Advocates for
criminal justice reform who have elected a wave of progressive
prosecutors nationwide captured the crown jewel as former San Francisco
District Attorney George Gascon defeated Los Angeles DA Jackie Lacey,
Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. Gascon had nearly 54% of the 3 million votes
counted when an emotional Lacey conceded, saying that even though votes
remained to be counted, her consultants concluded she could not make up
the difference. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
CALIFORNIA

Column: In charging molester as a minor, Gascón helps critics and hurts
reform

Feb. 24, 2022

In Los Angeles, for instance, homicides are up for the second year,
which is fuel for the fire Gascón faces. But homicides are rising in
cities all around the country, including in jurisdictions that don’t
have reform police chiefs and district attorneys.

What’s more, attributing crime increases to reform measures like
California’s Proposition 47, which was co-written by Gascón and reduces
some crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, is simplistic at best,
dishonest at worst. A 2018 study found no evidence that Proposition 47
led to an increase in violent crime. It had no effect on burglaries or
auto thefts but possibly a small influence on larceny thefts. It reduced
recidivism rates.

Nevertheless, Gascón’s opponents continue to insist he’s turned L.A.
into a “pro-criminal paradise.”

The fact is, criminal justice reformers get many things right.
Recidivism rates are still way too high. States and cities still don’t
put sufficient resources into reentry programs, drug and mental health
treatment or alternatives to incarceration. The cash bail system — which
often allows people with money to get out of jail while poor people
languish behind bars until trial — is an outrage. Systemic racial
inequities persist at all levels of the criminal justice system.

An investigation is underway after more than 40 firearms were stolen
from a Garden Grove gun shop
OPINION

Editorial: Yes, there are problems with Prop. 47 and $0 bail. Just not
what you think

Dec. 29, 2021

Don’t get me wrong: Cities need to be made safe. Dangerous criminals
need to be kept off the streets. Police must be allowed to do their
jobs, fairly and responsibly. Mottoes such as “defund the police” don’t
help anything.

But a swing of the pendulum too far back toward the tough-on-crime
mentality that dominated for so long would be a serious mistake.

Unfortunately, criminal justice policy too often does just that: It
swings back and forth. A few grisly murders, a rising crime rate, a
fearmongering politician or ballot proposition — and suddenly society
lurches to the right. When voters feel safe again, policy swings back.

In the 1960s, there was a movement to encourage rehabilitation over
punishment. By the 1980s and 1990s, rising crime rates, and rising fear
of crime, led to tough-guy policies that filled — and overcrowded —
state prisons for decades.

Los Angeles, CA - June 18: Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon,
joined by members of SEIU Local 2015 and other local leaders, addresses
a news conference held on the steps of Hall of Justice on Friday, June
18, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
CALIFORNIA

Column: Violent crime fuels second Gascón recall try, but can D.A. be
blamed?

Jan. 22, 2022

The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country for which
data are available. The current generation of reformers rose up in
response to that.

And now they may be shut down.

We need to break the cycle. We need to focus on what works. We need
policies that fight crime effectively and are neither inhumane nor
racially discriminatory.The terms of the debate shouldn’t be
tough-on-crime versus soft-on-crime. Where reforms are proved effective
they should be continued; where they are not, they should be abandoned
or amended.

And while we’re at it, let’s let George Gascón serve out his term, and
judge his success or failure when it’s over.

@Nick_Goldberg

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