LA School District endorses Proposition 47 to reduce punishment for common crimes



A student pushes for Proposition 47 with a sign reading "Smart Jusice." | Kate Guarino

A student pushes for Proposition 47 with a sign reading “Smart Jusice.” | Kate Guarino

More than 100 youth and community leaders gathered Tuesday in Downtown L.A. to rally in support of Proposition 47. Those who marched were hoping that the Los Angeles Unified School district would pass a resolution voicing support for the measure, which would reduce the penalty for some of the most common crimes in California including drug possession, petty theft, possession of stolen goods, shoplifting, forgery and writing bad checks.

LAUSD voted 5 to 1 to support and endorse the proposition Tuesday evening.

Under the referendum— which will be voted on in November—these crimes would be downgraded from felonies to misdemeanors and sentences would drop from a potential of three years to a maximum of one.

The Brothers, Sons, Selves coalition, which hosted the rally, said LAUSD’s support is an important step to gain momentum for the referendum. [Read more…]

Assault, rape rates up in LA



Mayor Eric Garcetti and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck speak about crime statistics at a recent conference held at the 77th Division station in South L.A. | Daina Beth Solomon

Mayor Eric Garcetti and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck speak about crime statistics at a recent conference held at the 77th Division station in South L.A. | Daina Beth Solomon

The rate of assault in the city of Los Angeles increased 19.4 percent compared to this time last year, according to LAPD crime statistics announced yesterday. Rape has also increased 8.6 percent.

At the police commissioners meeting, Los Angeles Police Department Police Chief Charlie Beck said homicide, however, is going down: It has decreased 7.2 percent.

In South L.A., the numbers are going down for serious crimes. Homicide, rape, aggravated assault, burglary and theft are down 4.3 percent compared to this time last year.

Beck said the 19.4 percent increase in the rate of assault is likely primarily driven by an increase in domestic violence reports.

“It’s a grossly underreported crime which means even a small increase in willingness to report can lead to a large increase in the number of reports,” Beck said.

“This is a problem that has a lot of layers and I know many things we can do to reduce it,” he continued. “I know many things that are effective that we do to reduce the numbers but the causal factors are much more difficult.”

LAPD Officer Liliana Preciado said it is important that residents continue to report instances of domestic violence.

“People are reporting this more,” she said. “Obviously there’s no way for us to know why it goes up or down in this particular period but we are always encouraging victims to come forward.”