I don't profess to know anything about district attorneys or criminal justice. I do know that under Gascon, petty crime and street crime have exploded in San Francisco. The city has always been an "anything goes" kind of place, but now it's more in a lawless kind of way than a fun kind of way. Whatever Gascon was doing, it may have been protecting repeat criminals from over-punishment, but it's also created (or did nothing to prevent) a street situation that's depressing and insecure for residents. I don't recommend this experiment to other cities.
27
Minority communities usually strongly back aggressive law enforcement, because they are routinely the victims of violent crimes.They want the guns, punks, gangbangers and drug users/sellers off the streets, they want to feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods. Phooey to the so called reformers.
15
Unbelievable. You're so obsessed by stop-and-frisk that you missed the real relevance of Bloomberg's record to this issue - his dramatic reduction in the incarceration rate of young black men. While you're creating cartoon characters meant to look like Mike Bloomberg, and while Bernie's all shouting and handwaving, Bloomberg's complex record shows he actually made real progress on the criminal justice issues of most consequence for minority communities - lower incarceration rates and reduced violent crime in minority neighborhoods. Too easily distracted by hype, too little focused on real governance and all of the dirty little complexities that come with it.
38
The race between Jackie Lacey and George Gascon has been one of the ugliest races in Los Angeles history. With a little bit of historical perspective, it is clear that Jackie Lacey is the perfect compromise to the Gil Garcetti-Steve Cooley battles that divided the DA's Office in LA County for so long. Lacey has both the support of law enforcement through her long career coming up the ranks in the DA's Office and the African American community by the virtue of her pioneering leadership: becoming the first African American and the first woman to head this important office is no trivial matter. I find it hard not to feel that George Gascon is an opportunist who came to retire in Los Angeles and is exploiting Lacey's on-going tension with Black Lives Matter. What DA's Office in America doesn't have tensions with BLM? And, who in their right mind thinks San Francisco is a shining example of law and order? Gascon's big claim that San Francisco diverts criminals away from prisons begs the retort that the diversion is to the streets and neighborhoods of San Francisco that has turned one of the greatest cities in the world into an open-air drug market. If the best Gascon can do for Los Angeles is "I'll turn it into San Francisco," I think our answer should be, "No Thank You!"
27
@UC Graduate, as an SF resident now, and former NYC resident in the years of Bloomberg, I think you are right on. I agree that we need criminal justice reform. But what has happened in SF is basically DA-office-sponsored lawlessness. Their are routinely adults using drugs and relieving themselves on the streets in broad daylight. The Tenderloin and SOMA neighborhoods have become a magnet for users near and far to partake. And the local officials solution to these problems thus far has been to raise taxes so that there is more money to waste...
19
Once you pull marijuana and lower drug offenses out, what are the reasons for incarceration? Then considering those remaining offenses are blacks and other minorities more violent than whites? Statistics and data should provide some meaningful answers. Undoubtedly economic conditions are an underlying factor.
12
"As the presidential candidates focus on California, the Democrat who offers the clearest counterpoint to Mr. Bloomberg’s criminal justice record is Bernie Sanders, who has closely aligned himself with the progressive prosecutor movement."
Bernie Sanders is the All Round Best Choice for inequality and minorities. Funny how another NYT article mentions Tim Shriver, Bobby Kennedy's nephew, not to endorse Sanders but discount Sanders. The irony is that Sanders is closest to RFK of all these candidates.
3
The big question is whether California will finish counting all its mail-in and provisional ballots before 4/1.
Incumbent DA Lacey is being excoriated by activists simply because they expected differently from her due to the color of her skin?
She has the legal chops to do the job; BLM activists shouldn't have expected different outcomes with her as DA simply because she is a black American.
If Gascon represents the San Francisco model of criminal justice enforcement, then LA residents would do well to steer clear and stick with Lacey.
6
Victimless crimes need to be taken off the books.
But there are reasons the people in jail are in jail, and though those reasons might occasionally include police or prosecutor misconduct, the hundreds of thousands of assaults, robberies, rapes, muggings, and killings committed in this country every year argue that there are a LOT of people who need to be kept out of the general population.
So fine let's have criminal justice reform. But let's also have interventions to teach young children right and wrong before they get set in their ways. Right now it doesn't feel like the people telling us 'it takes a village' are doing anything to provide one.
27
Perhaps Ms. Pawel might've read the L.A. Times' Jill Leovy's "Ghettoside" before she started pontificating on disparate incarceration rates. Is it somehow inconceivable that different peoples, different communities, different cultures might have different proclivities towards violence? Why, of course not, not in the insular worldview of a white NYT Opinion writer.
5
The faces of violent criminals on the local news here in SoCal are not white. Just sayin.
6
@M That's odd. The same is true here in South Florida.
3
Bloomberg stopped crime in New York. At the time he was mayor, the city was the safest in all the years I lived there. Not one candidate is perfect, but if you want to beat Trump then Bloomberg can do it.
I have to believe that many of the comments promoting Sanders are Russian plants. His campaign is compromised. The Russians want to see him win, then to lose to Trump. This is not my imagination. These tactics have been put in place a long time ago and it’s for people to think Sanders is popular. Russian want Trump their play thing in the world.
Vote Bloomberg.
10
Yes. The arrogant inhumane Mr. Bloomberg must be stopped, My choice for Democratic nominee is Sanders, for criminal justice reforms and a modicum of economic justice. I would vote for Biden if he were to become the Democratic nominee. I could not vote for Bloomberg. I frankly don't see him as an improvement over the incumbent.
2
@jenifer wolf I hardly find Bloomberg arrogant. He may not be warm and fuzzy like a teddy bear on tv, but he has proven track record in business and politics. No other candidate has a business, nor do they have an amazingly successful business.
America is a big giant business, and has not been run well. 9 - 11. Well wow do people forget how horrific that was, and you forget what Bloomberg did for New York City. Shame on you, you are being very shallow minded.
7
I'm not too impressed with George Gascon, having lived in San Francisco for years, and seeing it go into a physical and social decline while he was in charge of law enforcement there. The city streets have become so dangerous and filthy that this has even been a story in the European news media, essentially warning tourists to stay away.
Of course, the rather dim Mayor Gavin Newsom had a hand in creating this mess, too I say rather dim because if he's speaking without reading from a prepared statement, he sounds like a fourth-grader, and not the sharpest kid in the class. I've heard him. And now he's the governor!
California has long suffered from poor leadership, and Gascon and Newsom are prime specimens, in THAT department!
7
"The incarceration rate for blacks is 13 times the rate for whites.". That stat is meaningless, and likely misleading, in the absence of the a rate comparison at which blacks and whites commit crimes.
12
I have a hard time thinking that if the incarceration rate for one group is 13 times as high as for others that this can all be the result of racism. Are there other possible explanations that the political left finds in inconvenient to bring up? Are all judges and police inherently extreme racists? What is the incarceration rate when police and judges are themselves members of minority populations? I have a feeling we get only information supporting a particular political point of view. Voters would like to see a balanced presentation.
5
@ Ronald B. Duke
There are reasons the incarceration rate is 13 times higher. Think of a black kid caught with pot vs a white kid. The white kid’s father comes down to the police station, talks to the officers, promises he will deal with his son and he’s let go. If not let go the white kid’s dad can hire a lawyer, but the black kid is one of as many as a hundred clients the public defender must unrealistically defend properly. The overworked lawyer will often recommend a plea deal, which will land him in jail. There are reasons, other than over racism, for the racial disparities for black vs white incarceration rates.
3
I really think Bloomberg would be the best president as well as the one most likely to beat Trump.
9
The disconnect from the most basic logic in these arguments is absolutely mind-boggling. If one group commits crimes at many times the rate of the rest of the population, how can it be surprising, or reprehensible, when that group is similarly over represented in the prison population? In the name of fairness, should we be jailing women for violent crime at the same rate as men? Should we be treating men for ovarian cancer and endometriosis?
No one can object to violence prevention programs in the areas where most of the crime occurs. However, accusations of racism do nothing to help people lead honest lives, and one need look only at the rapidly rising rate of property crime in California to see the consequences of decriminalizing crime; it makes us feel very good about ourselves until our car windows are smashed, our homes invaded, or innocent people beaten by laughing mobs on our streets.
16
You raise good points that are supported by plenty of statistics bearing out your contentions. But there’s more to consider. My experience teaches me that the disparate treatment of people along racial lines does not only result from the notion that individuals of color commit more crimes. If you have any doubt about that, just look at some additional numbers, like the sentencing disparities for crack and powder cocaine, largely across the black and white communities, respectively. The disparity used to be 1 to 100, and now is better at 1 to 18, but still, the difference is morally indefensible. It’s bad public policy. At some point, the government must dedicate resources to lifting up the historically disadvantaged and stop worrying about how to fund more prison cells to incarcerate many, many persons who unfortunately never had the opportunities white individuals enjoy, and then incarcerate them for longer terms. It’s at that point when we’ll see unsupportable disparities begin to dissipate.
@Mark Larsen
The sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine has a complex history on how it came about. Instead of acknowledging this, the immediate explanation is racism. When a multi-variate analysis is performed, the issue stops looking so clear. The crack/cocaine drug wars of the 1980's created almost literal battlegrounds in quite a few major cities. Community and religious leaders of color, as well as law-abiding residents began demanding that harsher sentences be established for a drug causing so much carnage.
7
@Someone else The problem with "stop and frisk" in NYC, as well as similar policing stops in places like the greater St. Louis area, was precisely that one group WAS NOT "committing crimes at many times the rate of the rest of the population." For example, marijuana usage and possession among teen-age whites is the same as for teen-age blacks and Latinos, yet because blacks and Latinos are much more likely to be stopped WITHOUT PROBABLE CAUSE than whites, blacks and Latinos were being disproportionately arrested, resulting in criminal records. And it is no coincidence that the strict law and order approach to drug-related crimes in the crack heyday is now being rethought when it is whites who are being ravaged by crystal meth and oxycodone addiction.
1
Your message is incredibly convoluted. You bring up Michael Bloomberg's record of the "stop, question, and frisk" program which was started before he was in office and he apologized for. You give credit to the recovered criminal. Note, a recovered criminal apologizes for his mistakes and does good. How different is that from Bloomberg? We ALL make mistakes! He has created numerous positive programs for the black and brown community, including housing and education. Which is it? Your message is to condemn one individual and not another?
By the way, Bloomberg was the only candidate at the last debate who spoke about the importance of the next election because of the judicial system. (You should applaud Bloomberg for bringing it up.) It's not a Bernie vs Bloomberg concern; they are on the same party. It's a Democrat vs Republican concern.
10
I learned early in my career as a prosecutor that racial disparity in the criminal justice system does not start at the prosecutor’s door; it starts on the streets in the disparate allocation of police resources dedicated to the easy arrests of individuals engaged in street crime. The resulting statistics (arrests, charges and convictions) build the careers of law enforcement officers, so that is where they dedicate their time and energy. Just review the statistics that result from white criminality (powder cocaine, for example) and crimes by black individuals (for instance, crack cocaine), and the widely varying amount of resources directed toward (or one might suggest, against) those two communities. It’s a national embarrassment.
21
@Mark Larsen
It's more than an embarrassment. It's deliberate cruelty.
7
"The incarceration rate for blacks is 13 times the rate for whites." Is the crime rate for blacks 13 times the rate for whites?
6
Hopefully, Kamala Harris's endorsement will make a difference here. Let's also hope the Democrats come up with a way to make endorsements that stick for Democrat Senate candidates in Red states.
They need new voters. All of them.
I love op-eds like this because they offer reassurance that Donald Trump will almost certainly be re-elected. Individuals like Chesa Boudin are dangerous and shouldn't be celebrated. Thumbs down on progressive prosecutors.
11
Putting a 16 year old in jail for nearly 20 years is absolutely insane.
I have a very good friend back from when I lived in LA. Before I met him he had got off on the wrong foot, had a crack addiction and was jailed for armed robbery.
He served 2 years and has spent the last 25 clean, sober with a lovely honor-roll daughter. What would have happened if they had just thrown away the key on him?
One difference is he is white. I imagine if he was non-white, he'd still be in there.
21
I have lived in Los Angeles since the early 1980s. I remember very well how violent and crime-ridden this city was during those times. Prosecuting and incarcerating criminals is a vital tool in keeping the peace. I voted for Jackie Lacey and urge all my fellow Angelenos to do the same.
26
so gascon has evolved but bloomberg hasn't.
8
Yeah, I noticed that too. Funny how that works.
5
The criminal justice system is not racist. That is a delusion and obsession of the NYT.
It is often unfair to poor people who cannot afford bail or competent representation. All poor people.
Election of "progressive prosecutors" has led to increased crime in several cities.
21
Using an article like this to slam one presidential candidate, Mike, while leaving untouched the record of every other candidate on this issue is unfair and inappropriate. Mike's overall record running New York City for twelve years deserves more than a passing poke from a biased reporter.
26
There is no doubt that California will provide many delegates.
And that is what winning is about.
Not so much states but delegates.
When I watch the returns tonight I will be looking to see who gets 15% or more of the vote.
This is Mike Bloomberg's strategy to win. Not to win states but to win delegates and then use them to get to the second ballot and super delegates.
I want someone who has actually done things, not just get bills passed or, in the case of Bernie who over 30 years submitted almost 400 bills and got 3 passed ( renaming post offices in Vt).
Mike ran the most diverse city in America for 12 years and took them through major public health emergencies ( swine flu, west nile virus) and gave New Yorkers the best years ever.
He will do that for our nation.
I notice that Biden, who endlessly talks of the past, and who is about as inspiring as reheated food, is now the anointed one from the Dem establishment. Not all of us will drink the kool aid.
Some of us think for ourselves.
Only Mike can beat Trump and that is what we need to do.
36
@Simon Sez: What does this have to do with the LA District Attorney race?
28
@Simon Sez "Some of us think for ourselves"
When we're not reading a billionaire's bought thoughts!
4
@Simon Sez ...I think you were looking to comment on a different article. This one is mostly about the history of criminal justice reform in California.
4
Bernie is espousing policy that has worked in all the Nordic states for over 50 years. These governments are all true democracies (unlike ours) and they are all capitalist market economies. They are also the most educated,healthiest, and happiest people in the world. That could be us if you just don't buy in to the red baiting propaganda...most people don't anymore that's why Bernie's winning ....Bernie the real populist will beat the sham populist with the fake tan...
38
@plamb - Then why is Bernie calling himself a Socialist and tying himself to allthe failures of socialist countries over the decades. As you point out, the Nordic states are all capitalist market economies. Sanders seems to forget that part and never mentions it.
21
@plamb Denmark, Sweden, and Finland all have Social Democratic parties. The difference between those three countries and ours is that the people in those countries are willing to pay the taxes required to support a robust welfare state. Most middle-class Americans who call themselves Democrats (not social democrats) would rather forego the benefits of an expanded welfare system, pay lower taxes, and just hope for the best.
25
@Pragmatist
Agreed but when it comes to healthcare, we pay less taxes but then pay twice that for private insurance or our employers do.
We pay $11,000 per person and 18% of GDP. They pay $5,500 per person and 10% of GDP.
And maybe if we paid a little more for education, we would pay less for welfare and prison.
26
Prediction. You read it here. California on Tuesday will go half and half. The north will go to Sanders and the south will go to Biden, thus forcing the demise of Sanders as he'll also lose at least 8 of the remaining 13 states today.
2
No doubt there is a big discrepancy between white and black law enforcement.
But a more accurate number would be comparing black and white for economic levels.
My experience is more poverty has more social problems and blacks have more poverty than whites.
So it is not just fixing the justice system but also reducing poverty by investing in education, job training, etc.
9
No surprises, things are as expected; it is those who are unable to adopt and adapt to a civilized, higher cultured life that are incarcerated for their crimes! If the numbers seem skewed, it does represent those who lack that ability, and thus the education and training to avoid such an outcome!
14
Sure, but it is.
The key is the Senate.
1
@Contrary DAve Sadly, the Senate will stay in the hands of red states for now. Bernie would get nothing passed. Why? He won't get along with anyone who isn't a progressive, and that's a problem.
Goodbye to Bernie and Trump and good riddance to both of them.
3
I love this: "a reminder that people are more than the worst thing they have ever done".
Does it apply to Trump and Republicans as well?
5
@Not us. Me
But...they have so MANY worse things. And they just keep piling them up. Separating and imprisoning children, violating refugee laws, pulling YOUR tax dollars to build a wall that gets blown down by WIND, and benefit corporations who pay less than a living wage and offer meaningless benefits - if any. That’s the short list.
How does “the worst thing they have ever done” apply to people who deliberately sign cruel and inhumane acts into law that affect vast numbers of people who have no resources to defend themselves? And who are being systematically robbed of the few resources they have by those poor, poor, misjudged republicans?
Poor republicans.
2
@Not us. That doesn’t apply when everything the person does is bad.
I was hoping to see something on the ballots being offered to Democratic Party voters - those that mention party membership and those that require asking for the voters,voting intent. in other words. news on the latest party action intended to foil Bernie Sanders . Or was a laughing Donald Trump wrong in his understanding of the Democrat Party establishments latest monstrous defilement of democracy.
5
@George Victor If you wanted a progressive you should have voted for Warren. Bernie is too much like Trump for too many people to stomach. He is divisive and demands loyalists. No thank you.
23
@George Victor : In other words, if Bernie doesn't win, it will be because he was cheated. The same attitude that Trump supporters have.
Big news: if Bernie doesn't win, it will be because a majority of Democrats don't want a grumpy Socialist who yells a lot, fires up his true believers, scares the heck out of voters the Democrats need to win, and hasn't shown the shadow of a plan for any part of his "revolution".
42
@Frank O Thomas Frank warned in April, 2017 that there would be folks demanding the Democrats head for the middle again - somehow expecting different results from last time.
1