Walters: Once California’s biggest political issue, crime makes a comeback

There was a time, four-plus decades ago, when crime was California’s most powerful political issue.

The state was experiencing a serious spike in crime but the Legislature, controlled by Democrats, ignored pleas to do something about it. Republicans sensed an opportunity and for more than a decade, while accusing Democrats of being soft on crime, scored a series of electoral victories.

GOP challengers knocked off several Democratic legislators. George Deukmejian, the state’s tough-on-crime Republican attorney general, was elected governor in 1982 and succeeded by Republican Pete Wilson in 1990.

Republicans also mounted a successful campaign in 1986 to remove three liberal members of the state Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Rose Bird.

Democratic legislators finally jumped on the bandwagon, and during the 1980s and 1990s enacted a torrent of bills — most notably a three-strikes law in 1994.

New laws and tougher attitudes by prosecutors and judges put tens of thousands of offenders behind bars. Even though the state built dozens of new prisons, an eightfold increase in inmates meant severe overcrowding that eventually triggered federal court reduction orders.

As the century turned, Democrats regained dominance in the Capitol. A decade ago and with voter support, they began modifying or even repealing the tough sentencing laws of the anti-crime heyday, citing mass incarceration for relatively minor crimes. The inmate population is now half of what it once was and prisons are being closed.

However, the state is experiencing a spate of property crimes such as shoplifting, car burglaries and smash-and-grabs, as well as certain violent crimes. Unsurprisingly, crime is once again a potent political issue.

Retailers, law enforcement groups and local government officials, angered that the Legislature seemed to ignore their pleas, qualified a ballot measure, Proposition 36, that would boost punishments for some crimes, partially repealing Proposition 47, a 2014 ballot measure that reduced certain penalties.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders tried to fashion a softer countermeasure for the ballot but couldn’t get it done, primarily because Democrats were not unified. They did, however, put together a 10-bill package that doesn’t go as far as Prop. 36 in cracking down on crime.

When Newsom signed the bills last Friday at a Home Depot in San Jose, he called it “the most significant legislation to address property crime in modern California history,” adding, “This goes to the heart of the issue, and it does it in a thoughtful and judicious way.”

Prop. 36 advocates weren’t impressed, saying, “State leaders have had years to address California’s crime and drug crises, yet little has been done to tackle the root causes. These newly passed legislative bills are half measures, failing to address the fundamental issues of habitual repeat theft, the fentanyl epidemic, and the ongoing homelessness crisis, which remains unaddressed due to the lack of strong incentives for drug treatment.”

By happenstance, as Newsom was signing the 10 bills, UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies released a poll that found Prop. 36 leading by a whopping 56% to 23%. It’s an impressive and perhaps unassailable margin, reflecting Californians’ renewed concerns about crime.

One looming uncertainty is whether Newsom will be content with the legislative package or will mount a full-fledged campaign to defeat Prop. 36.

As it stands, the anti-Prop. 36 coalition consists of liberal groups, some progressive legislators and some union officials, but doesn’t appear to have the millions of dollars that a serious opposition campaign would require.

Newsom has the money or could raise it, but he’s been spending much of his time and fundraising lately on increasing his national political standing.

Dan Walters is a CalMatters columnist.