Written by Andrew Morris
L.A. County is in chaos and disarray following the appointment of District Attorney George Gascon last year. Now we see the fruits of his appointment, homicides are up 127% in just the first four months of this year as compared to last year.
Even in the Santa Clarita Valley, the DA’s office rejected 537 prosecutable cases from the Sheriff’s Department. This number is up more than 150% from the entire year last year, which could become almost 2 ½ times as much by the end of the year.
In a regular DA office, cases are only thrown out due to lack of evidence or a faulty procedure, but in Gascon’s little perfect world, trespassing, disturbing the peace, unlicensed driving, criminal threats, drug possession, drunk in public, loitering, and prostitution are not “serious crimes” and therefore should not be prosecuted.
Additionally, the “three strikes” law and sentencing enhancements have been thrown out the window.
All these policies put together make it obvious that Gascon would rather let drunks and criminals roam free instead of putting in the time and effort to keep LA County a safe place.
Of the total 537 criminal cases he has left unprosecuted, 321 of them weren’t dealt with simply because he apparently has better things to do.
Because of all this negligence on his part, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department is losing heart, but who can blame them? Several of these Sheriffs put their lives on the line every day, but to have the very people they arrest be released immediately afterward is a slap in the face. Recently, the Department reported a day which had only two arrests, the lowest ever before Gascon took office.
Several cities in LA County have already taken to a recall effort, calling on his poor policies and the staggering number of releases under his charge.
