California Sheriff: Act for Safer Communities Fueled Addiction, Homelessness

Legislation aimed at making neighborhoods and schools safer has fueled California’s addiction and homelessness problems, a sheriff said recently, even as his department works to combat those issues.

“When we stopped enforcing drug rules and laws, we started seeing a major, major, major increase in what we see now as the severe mental health problems of people that are living on the street,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco explained during an interview with Fox News.

According to Bianco, many homeless people suffer from crippling drug addiction, which can make them uncontrollable. Therefore, officials are sometimes unsure how to act or react to them because their behavior can be unpredictable.

He blamed the issues on Proposition 47, which voters approved in 2014, the Fox report continued:

Also referred to as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, Prop 47 changed crimes like theft of goods under $950 and drug possession from felonies to misdemeanors and ultimately reduced California’s prison population by more than 13,000 inmates. More than half the money saved on prison costs is earmarked for mental health services, substance use disorder treatment and other programs.

In August 2015, Breitbart News noted that Proposition 47 coincided with rising crime in areas of the state.

“Conservative columnist Debra Saunders, who is the lone conservative columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, argues in her latest syndicated column that the release of roughly 3,700 inmates has decreased public safety,” it was reported at the time.

In November, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and local lawmakers were fighting over who should take responsibility for the state’s rampant homelessness, according to Breitbart News.

The outlet noted that “the state reportedly has over 116,000 residents sleeping on the streets — the most in the United States — in addition to being one of the most expensive housing markets across the country.”

Meanwhile, Bianco expressed astonishment that voters did not research before casting their ballot.

He added that “they trusted the government to be honest to them when they said it was safe schools and safe streets because everybody’s for that. But we were lied to.”

The sheriff claims people were told there would be mass incarceration for simple drug possession, therefore, Proposition 47 seemed like a good option.

Those who went to court were told they could go to jail or enter drug diversion and most of them chose diversion, the sheriff explained.

The Fox report added:

Across the state, 67% of drug courts surveyed by the Center for Court Innovation reported their caseloads decreased after the passage of Prop 47. Even among the defendants who were referred to the courts following the change in drug charge classification, many refused to enroll in diversion programs, suggesting the courts have less leverage to push addicts to seek help, researchers wrote.

According to Bianco, not being able to push them into treatment has caused more mental health issues and crime when it comes to drugs.