Democrats are SOFT on Crime! - True or False

[tenderfoot]

Seems like it judging from all the criticism regarding the incident in Wisconsin. The DA in San Francisco. etc...

So is it true? Is there data backing that up or is the Right just better at "messaging"?

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[cinematicdiversions]

1. No. Biden certainly isn't. He was a major force in reducing crime in the nineties.

Some however use justice reforms to carry the Republicans water.

Particularly on the local level, we have some people that are detrimental to Americans' quality of life on these issues. (A recent New York Mayor, for example)

[LakeArenal]

2. Judges are soft on crime. At least in WI

[rampartc]

3. every violent criminal (esp minority)

that someone (doesn't have to be a dem or liberal) lets out of jail with low bail or short sentence is a "willie horton" ad waiting to happen.

this idiot in wisconsin who killed 6 with his car is already a "liberal democrat terraist" as far as the trumpists are concerned.

[Thomas Hurt]

4. Democrats AFAIK are for protecting the constitutional rights of all people including those...

accused and convicted of crimes. Soft on crime is yet another conservative propaganda slogan.

The christofascists use it and reject any reform policy merely because it is "liberal".

[Polybius]

5. Not the good ones

Biden and Harris have always been tough on crime.

[Zeitghost]

6. Depends on the Democrat

depends on the crime and depends on the criminal.

But on the whole I would say we are at least perceived as being softer on crime.

[GoodRaisin]

7. No more than Republicans are. But it's a RW talking point.

In fact, Fox News mentions it just about every hour.

[janterry]

8. Vermont is pretty soft on crime

other states are certainly not. Some of it depends on party, some on the state.

FWIW, I don't know how it will play out in Vermont. I read about tension in Burlington between the store owners, citizens, activists - and those in between. And what seems like a clear increase in crime.

I live south of burlington - so at this point, I'm more of an observer - and while I worry, I haven't formed a strong opinion, just yet.

But I'd say for sure, it's less tough on crime than other states - and the city is certainly democratic-led.

[LeftInTX]

9. The right is better at messaging. Fear sells

[IcyPeas]

10. California's Prop 47 changed the law to change what were once felonies into misdemeanors

This Proposition is what is often brought up with the recent smash and grab thefts .... such as at Walgreens, Nordstrom all the smash and grab thefts that are going on in cities.

https://www.courts.ca.gov/prop47.htm

Theft Offenses
Proposition 4 7 created new misdemeanors and reclassified several felony theft offenses as misdemeanors. The new misdemeanor provisions do not apply to persons with one or more prior convictions for offenses under Penal Code section 667(e)(2)(C)(iv) or for sex offenses that require registration under Penal Code section 290(c). The new provisions include:

Shoplifting. The proposition added Penal Code section 459.5 to create a new misdemeanor offense called "shoplifting," punishable by up to 6 months in county jail. Shoplifting would be defined as "entering a commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny while that establishment is open during regular business hours" where the value of the property does not exceed $950. Any other entry into a commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny is burglary. Any act of shoplifting as defined above must be charged as shoplifting. No person charged with shoplifting may also be charged with burglary or theft of the same property.

Petty Theft. Proposition 47 added Penal Code section 490.2 to expressly define petty theft as “obtaining any property by theft where the value of the money, labor, real or personal property taken” does not exceed $950. This new definition of petty theft applies notwithstanding Section 487 “or any other provision of law defining grand theft.” (Pen. Code, § 490.2(a).) As such, the new definition of petty theft appears to apply regardless of how specific categories of property are treated under separate statutes. This new provision is not applicable to any theft that may be charged as an infraction “pursuant to any other provision of law.”

Receiving Stolen Property. Before Proposition 47, a violation of Penal Code section 496 was a wobbler offense, except that if the value of the property did not exceed $950, the district attorney or grand jury could specify the offense as exclusively a misdemeanor “in the interests of justice.” Proposition 4 7 rendered all violations of section 496 that do not exceed $950 as strictly misdemeanors, eliminating prosecutorial discretion to charge those offenses as felonies.

more at link

[Mz Pip]

11. Prop 47 is a disaster

Package thefts are rampant. Police are disinclined to investigate even if cameras pick up a license plate.
Shoplifters fill up the carts and just walk out.

I don’t know what proponents of this proposition thought would happen but it sure gave the green light to petty criminals.

[tenderfoot]

13. It was supported by Newt Gingrich...

The measure was endorsed by the editorial board of The New York Times, which praised it as a way to reduce overcrowding in the state's prisons.[10] It was also endorsed by the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times, which wrote that the measure was a "good and timely measure that can help the state make smarter use of its criminal justice and incarceration resources."[11] The American Civil Liberties Union also supported the measure and donated $3.5 million to support it.[12]

Prominent individual supporters included Jay-Z and Newt Gingrich.[13]

[SYFROYH]

12. I'd like to think we are smarter on crime,

But those policies usually don’t work in campaigns.

[MagickMuffin]

14. That trope is so 80's Soft on crime

Yeah, 80's here we go again.