LA cops had to release 14 smash-and-grab theft suspects thanks to 'zero bail' policy
LAPD Chief Michel Moore called for an end to the zero bail policy after 14 alleged smash-and-grab robbers were arrested but quickly released
The Los Angeles Police have announced the release of 14 suspects they arrested in connection with 11 smash-and-grab robberies between November 18 to 28. The alleged robbers, including one juvenile, looted $340,000 worth of merchandise from several LA stores, however, all of them will walk free as some of them made bail while the others met the 'zero bail' policy. They are now awaiting their court cases to work through the system.
So what is California's 'zero bail' policy? In a 28 to 8 vote in May this year, the state senate passed a bill promising to restructure the criminal justice system by doing away with the cash bail system and set the bail at zero for all misdemeanors and all low-level felonies. Under the terms of the legislation, certain felonies, such as violent crime, hate crimes, and human trafficking don't qualify for zero bail. "The current system of money bail is obsolete, unconstitutional and fundamentally broken, and costs us millions of dollars without keeping us any safer," state senator Robert Hertzberg said at the time. The legislation was modeled after the state Judicial Council's temporary move in 2020 to set bail at zero in order to keep jail populations down during the height of the pandemic, to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among those behind bars.
LA Police Chief calls for end to policy
Back when the legislation was passed, CBS 8 reported that critics pushed back arguing this move could endanger public safety. In a press conference on December 2, LA police chief Michel Moore and Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the arrest and subsequent release of the 14 alleged robbers and later asked for an end to the no bail policy. Garcetti said it was time to punish perpetrators who commit violent crimes and put store employees in danger by putting them behind bars as the effects of the pandemic are reportedly subsiding.
"We need the help of our criminal justice system, of our judges, of our jailers," Garcetti said, according to a Daily Mail report. "We have opened up a lot of the city because we're in a better place with COVID. We should be able to also open up our jails, and we should be able to have judges that put people behind those bars." Earlier this week, Governor Gavin Newsom said that the budget he will send to lawmakers next month will "significantly increase our efforts to go after these retail rings." Reportedly, retailers lose around $65 billion annually due to organized theft, the majority of these cases include the involvement of professional robbers. Currently, suspected shoplifters accused of stealing goods under $950 cannot be charged with a felony due to Proposition 47 introduced in 2014.
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