Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón has expanded the Restorative Enhanced Diversion for Youth (REDY) program, allowing criminals under the age of 18 years to avoid jail or prison for some felonies. Initiated as a pilot program, it will become permanent policy.
In an internal memo obtained and tweeted by FOX News reporter Bill Melugin, Gascón’s office provided examples of the criminal acts no longer considered punishable felonies for youth including burglary, assault, vehicle theft, robbery, grand theft person, sexual assault and arson. Instead of prison, they will participate in restorative justice.
Eliminated Cash Bail
Restorative justice allows a criminal to make amends on his or her own terms without facing the penalty that civil society and the justice system has established. They are expected to connect directly with the person or people victimized by the criminal act, usually in the form of an apology or an offer to repair or replace stolen property, Daily Mail reports.
A press release from Gascon’s office highlights his achievements during his one-year term. It touts the REDY program for keeping more cases in juvenile courts, allowing fewer to be tried as adults. Elimination of cash bail “for individuals charged with misdemeanors and nonserious or nonviolent felonies who pose no danger to the community” is also highlighted.
Los Angeles has seen a rise in homicides, shootings, home invasion robberies, retail smash and grab theft, Daily Mail reports. Gascón has been accused of allowing criminals to continue to walk the streets due to “no-bail” policies.
Progressive D.A.s Everywhere
“Gascón is a progressive prosecutor who has been vocal about his belief that the criminal justice system needs to focus more on intervention and rehabilitation, blasting ‘tough on crime’ policies as racist and a failure,” writes Keith Griffith for Daily Mail.
Miriam Krinsky, executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, praised the work of Gascón on his one-year anniversary in office.
“More and more Americans are calling for systemic reforms to the criminal legal system, and in increasing numbers, they see their locally elected prosecutor as a powerful force for change,” Krinsky says. “Reform-minded prosecutors now represent around 20 percent of the U.S. population in communities large and small, rural and urban, blue and red. These leaders are creating a new normal in prosecution that reduces our reliance on incarceration, promotes public safety and moves us closer to a justice system that truly lives up to its name.”
Pursues ‘Restorative Justice’
In October, Gascón’s office made clear thier intent to move toward restorative justice policies.
“The long-term goal is to develop a permanent restorative justice probationary model based on a proven clinical methodology,” the statement.
Many Californians are attributing the spike in crime to criminal justice reform, New York Post reports. Philanthropist Jacqueline Avant was recently murdered inside her Beverly Hills home by a career criminal out on parole.
“With this guy’s history, with prison priors, he absolutely should still be in jail,” L.A. Police Detective Jamie McBride told the New York Post. “He should have gotten a longer sentence. For his rap sheet and the violent crimes he’s been involved in, he should never have been offered a plea bargain.”
‘No-Confidence’ Votes
Gascón survived a recall election in September but a second attempt was initiated the first week of December, Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Over 30 cities in the county have approved a no-confidence vote on Gascón. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told FOX he hoped Gascón would resign, “which is what anyone would expect from a DA who will not prosecute criminals, values offenders over victims, and has received a formal vote of no confidence from 31 cities,” Villanueva said.
“When society removes accountability for bad behavior, criminals get emboldened to commit more crimes,” Los Angeles Police Protective League president Craig Lally told FOX News. “Drug addicts thumb their noses at mandatory treatment, and vandalism and petty theft turn into riotous looting and murder.”
Two Cities, One D.A.
The Left does not believe stealing is wrong writes Dennis Prager for Heartland Daily News. “In the last election, Los Angeles voters elected San Francisco’s previous district attorney, George Gascón, as Los Angeles’s district attorney,” Prager writes. “It was Los Angeles’s way of declaring that stealing is not wrong.”
“We arrest these crooks but they are not staying in jail,” McBride told the New York Post. “If they know it is a property crime they figure nothing will happen to them. So why not go for the big dollars in Beverly Hills? In the last few years, the LAPD had to create a special unit just for home invasions in the enclave,” he said.
“People get followed home and then they get robbed. The only thing missing from LA is Kurt Russell driving up in an eye patch, like in ‘Escape From New York.’ It all goes back to our liberal politics.”