California’s AB109 and Prop 47 blamed for Vegas surge in murder and other crimes
CBS Los Angeles
May 19, 2016
LOS ANGELES -- Las Vegas is blaming two California laws for a spike in murders and other crimes.
The sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department claimed a number of crimes that happened in Sin City have been traced back to Californian.
Sheriff Joe Lombardo blamed AB 109, which allows for early release of certain inmates, and Proposition 47, which reduces nonviolent crimes to misdemeanors.
“Individuals we’re able to identify, and also the victims of those crimes – we’re seeing a significant increase in individuals that have gang affiliation, gang association directly related to California,” Lombardo said.
According to the LVMPD, overall crime was up in Vegas this year by 22 percent. Homicides surged by more than 60 percent. Sexual assaults spiked 9 percent, and robberies went up 21 percent.
Vegas police said they can prove some of those crimes are a result of AB 109 and Prop. 47, based on the offenders’ criminal histories that trace back to California.
Long Beach resident Tedric Williams questioned the claims made by the Las Vegas sheriff. “It’s very simple-minded. We’ve got to think bigger. Folks committing crimes are folks committing crimes, whether they be affected by Prop. 47 or not,” Williams said.
Los Angeles’ city attorney said he believes Prop. 47 is broken and needs to be reevaluated but also questioned how Lombardo made a direct connection between Sin City’s spike in crime and California’s laws.
Lombardo also noted that his department does not have enough officers on patrol, which could be another reason for the crime surge.
EDITOR’S NOTE: What happens in California doesn’t stay in California.
2 comments:
An old friend of mine used to dance in Vegas back in the old days when the mob openly ran the town. She assures me that Vegas was a much safer place back then, because the mob did not put up with petty crime or other bullshit that scared away the tourists. Upon reflection, that makes perfectly good sense.
We used to love to go to Vegas. The last couple of times, we barely left the Hotel. The cops aren't pro-active and the gangs have taken over the strip. Downtown is worse. The corporations don't care.
I remember when my Casino Host at Binion's was named Uncle Tony Giamalva. Everyone was well behaved.
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