California voters: Don’t be fooled by law enforcement and the bail industry in 2020

This year’s legislative session brought remarkable progress in the fight for a fairer, more effective justice system in California.

Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California State Legislature, California is now on track to close two adult state prisons and close its youth prison system.

The state ended the use of private prisons, stopped shipping inmates out-of-state, overhauled our state’s probation and parole systems, instituted increased law enforcement oversight mechanisms and prioritized measures that keep people convicted of low-level offenses out of jail and prison.

In a year that saw criminal justice issues drive our national politics — and people taking to the streets across the country to demand more from our criminal justice system — California showed that it is at the forefront of the national call for justice and change.

This stunning progress is what California voters have been clamoring for — and it’s what’s best for safe communities. As two people who have spent time in state prison and now run our own organizations giving back to communities to stop cycles of violence, we know what it takes to improve public safety. Mass incarceration depletes money from prevention and rehabilitation and worsens outcomes for people and communities.

That’s why it is so heartening to see the governor and other state leaders put real safety first, ignoring the tired, so-called “tough-on-crime” nonsense. That is also why it is so shocking that, despite this progress, law enforcement unions and the predatory bail industry are trying to convince voters this November to reverse course.

Looking at the California ballot for 2020, we can see that once again the forces of the old, failed system are doing everything in their power to protect their own interests and derail California’s long-overdue move toward justice reform. They are fighting at the ballot box for a system that would cost California taxpayers billions and they continue to resist any efforts to address systemic racism and ineffectiveness in our safety and justice systems.

Law enforcement unions and the bail industry are spending millions of dollars on political campaigns to pass Proposition 20 — to repeal recently enacted justice reforms — and stop Prop. 25 which will end the predatory money bail industry in California. Voters should not be fooled.

All Californians have benefited from the recent criminal justice reforms to reduce excessive incarceration and expand alternatives. Crime has fallen to record low levels. Taxpayers have saved hundreds of millions of dollars as we have reduced our prison population and invested those dollars in crime prevention, victim services and effective rehabilitation and mental health programs.

Those of us who support reform must continue to fight to make our criminal and juvenile justice systems fairer and safer for all Californians. We must help Gov. Newsom achieve his important goals of closing prisons and changing state law to allow police officers who have committed serious misconduct to be stripped of their badges.

We must continue to help our leaders address police misconduct, control the COVID-19 crisis in prisons and reform our complex web of overly punitive sentencing laws.

There is no doubt about the type of criminal justice system California voters want to see. They have delivered a clear mandate for a system that emphasizes rehabilitation and second chances over mass incarceration.

Through important voter approved reforms like Prop. 47 and Prop. 57, tens of thousands of Californians have been given their lives back and been given a second chance, all while making communities safer. We know that criminal justice reform is working. Now is not the time to roll back the clock.

Californians have a lot on their minds this election season. But as we raise our voices on a host of vital issues, we must also be mindful of keeping California on the path of criminal justice reform. The nation will be watching California this November, and in the months that follow.

California voters and elected leaders once again have the power to provide a model to the rest of the nation on a criminal justice system that saves taxpayers billions of dollars and makes smart, targeted investments to make our communities safer.

This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 12:16 PM.