Residents of Vista and other nearby areas of Northern California may want to learn more about the bill, SB-73, that is effective on January 1, 2022. It had recent passage and ends the minimum sentencing that is mandatory for nonviolent drug offenses. Lawyers, such as those in Shasta County, are saying that “tough on crime”, a slogan of the past, no longer applies to these offenses.
According to KRCR, some Northstate lawyers are saying that the tough laws made it harder for clients to receive mental health help. These are people who would benefit from rehabilitation.
Benefits of rehabilitation
Help is more beneficial than prison time. Those who commit drug crimes would be better served by probation, rehabilitation and treatment. The majority of those incarcerated are mostly Latino and Black. They would benefit from better rehabilitation policies.
On the other hand, there is rising crime
Some others argue that tough-on-crime acts as a deterrent, citing recent smash-and-grab crimes that have plagued California. They say that lax laws in California promote this type of crime.
Property crimes are up
The Public Policy Institute of California determined that violent and property crimes are up to pre-pandemic levels in the state. However, they are lower than what they were in the 1980s and 1990s.
Other crime laws enacted
The ending of the mandatory minimums is just one of the laws recently enacted. Scaled back in 2022 were other criminal laws, as well.
Changed were mandatory minimum drug sentences with the enactment and passage of SB-73 in California. The hope is that this will lead to more rehabilitation with less jail time for nonviolent crimes. The Governor agreed that rehabilitation and treatment are more effective than time spent in prison, when there is involvement in some types of drug crimes.
