It may come as a shock to some, but North America is not in Scandinavia. And, shoplifting is not an inconsequential crime–its effects on society are far-reaching.

Shoplifting hurts poor people and shopkeepers the most.

If the problem continues, merchants must increase prices to consumers to offset their losses. They have to increase security which costs money. An effective security system is very expensive. That causes inflation, which everyone knows is hardest on those whose incomes are smallest.

Also, if you think victims of property crimes feel they have not suffered violence then you are mistaken. That applies to sole proprietors, small companies, large companies, corporations of all sizes. It applies to for-profit and non-profit operations.

The prison reform I would like to see is either we build more prisons and keep them all locked up for the duration of their sentences or pack them in like sardines.

Talk to the victims of the crimes before you vote.

This new measure is trying to sneak in a rollback of a good law along with the grandstanding cause of expanding our list of violent crimes.

Prop. 47 should remain as it is.

I am against this measure. We need prison and criminal reform not harsher penalties. In other countries such as in Scandinavia penalties for crimes are much lower than ours and yet they have much lower crime rates,

This measure – must fail.

Yes, me too.

I do not believe taxpayers should be involved attempting to “rehabilitate” criminals. That is for private non-profit organizations and individuals.

We have a friend who worked as a prison guard in a maximum-security prison. He told us what it was like there. I don’t think these type of individuals can be rehabilitated.

Criminals that are sent to other facilities are less dangerous, but that doesn’t mean they are looking to go straight. If you ask them, most all will claim they are innocent. Uh-huh. They belong there, and if they want to go straight there is nothing to stop them–taxpayers do not need to be involved, nor ought we think they should be let out early because they behave themselves. If individuals or private non-profits or churches want to minister to them, that is fine with me.

For a sizable percentage of criminals, prison is a place where you get a room, a bath, three square meals a day, exercise, activities, television, and an opportunity to learn new ways to break the law. This cannot be helped if we worry more about prison-crowding than we do about the harm these people inflict on society.

Do you think I care if someone convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping, attempted murder, armed robbery, grand theft, shoplifting, fraud, counterfeiting, embezzlement, or other crimes, is unhappy about prison conditions? Give me a break–that ought to be part of the punishment.

And no, I don’t think that coming from a disadvantaged home is an excuse for anything. More people who had hardships as children become law-aiding citizens when they grow up than don’t.
As my grandmother used to say, poverty is no excuse.

I hate to agree with the Plover— but, alas, I must—–

What a concept!

Yup. Yup-yup. Yup-yup-yup. Now is the time for all good citizens to contact their local and state reps to educate them about the meaning of “Transparency in Government”.

If you haven’t done this already, make a list of the offices and officeholders from City Council to the Governor, their contact information, and the name(s) of at least one of their assistants. Contact your reps in any or all of the following ways, and always follow-up your contact with a letter or email conforming what you spoke about and ask for a reply.

Telephone
U.S. Mail (formal letter with all your contact information)
Email
Visit to their office
Public comment during public meeting

A visit to the office of a State legislator is probably the most effective way to make inroads. They rarely see their constituents while in Sacramento. You can go to their office without an appointment and if they aren’t real busy they might actually invite you in for a chat. If not, you might get to talk to their aide. If not, just leave your name and say you stopped by to pay them a call, leave your name & contact information AND the issue you wanted to speak with them about. Whatever happens, follow-up with a letter.

If you have not set foot in the Old State Capitol Building, you haven’t lived. It is beautiful. Plan your next vacation around a trip to Sacramento. Save up your money and stay in a nice hotel within walking distance. Take the tour, or give yourself a cook’s tour of the place. Check out both legislative chambers. If the Legislature is in session, stick around and see the show. if it isn’t the galleries are a nice quiet place to sit and meditate on the meaning of the California Senate Motto:

SENATORIS EST CIVITATIS LIBERTATEM TUERI

No matter how bad things get, one individual can make a difference. And whatever you do, always take the high road and never do anything that would bring shame on the cause of Liberty.

“This piece of deception was done specifically to fool the public and elected officials as to the true state of crime in the city of Los Angeles,” Carranza said at a news conference at her attorney’s Beverly Hills office. “The department then engaged in a highly complex and elaborate cover-up in an attempt to hide the fact that command officers had been providing false figures to the public, attempting to convince the public that crime had not significantly increased.””

LAPD has already been found to have been doctoring crime stats for years (just google for the articles the last couple of years) and this police captain claims they are still doing it and they punished her for trying to fix it.