Los Angeles County Democrats Propose Plan to 'Depopulate' Local Jails Because of 'Systemic Racism'

Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath have proposed a plan to “depopulate and decarcerate” county jails, releasing criminals to address what they call a “systemic racism” in criminal justice.

Solis, a former Democratic congresswoman and Secretary of Labor under President Barack Obama, and Horvath, a former mayor of West Hollywood who tried to bar President Donald Trump from the city, have proposed the plan, which will be voted on at the next Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.

The plan states: “To depopulate and decarcerate is a monumental task, and the Board is committed to redress historical wrongs, deeply rooted in systemic racism and prejudice, and reverse status quo responses to poverty, mental health and medical needs, and substance use dependencies.” It calls for the Supervisors to declare a “humanitarian crisis” and to take steps to reduce the population of inmates through various kinds of releases.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that local prosecutors are furious at the plan, which surprised them:

The Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association says it was blindsided by the proposal, only learning about it on Friday, and believes it is conspicuously timed to occur during the same week as two major local law enforcement events — the Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay and the Tri-County Police Chiefs Conference.

“In the midst of surging crime rates, pre-arrest decriminalization policies, and a complete shift away from sound public safety responses, it appears the County BOS is poised to exacerbate our current plight,” says a letter from the group to the supervisors, obtained by the Southern California News Group. “We do not stand against reform and we have been active participants in these efforts. However, we are concerned with the rushed motion under conspicuous circumstances, that does not allow for stakeholder participation.”

Supervisor Kathryn Barger is the only Republican member of the board and is opposed to the new plan.

Los Angeles County is already in an uproar over soaring crime, thanks in part to the policies of District Attorney George Gascón, who was elected with the help of millions of dollars in spending from left-wing billionaire donor George Soros.

The Board of Supervisors openly opposed the reelection of County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, a Democrat who took a law-and-order approach. He was defeated in November by Robert Luna.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

Photo: file