Critics rip California Democrats over left-wing policies as crime surge continues
LAPD detective Jamie McBride and Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp joined 'The Faulkner Focus' to discuss the how the state's leadership has approached the crime crisis.
Critics are ripping California Democrats for their policy "failures," arguing they are enabling criminals as the spike in brazen crime across the state continues.
Los Angeles Police Department detective Jamie McBride and Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp joined Harris Faulkner during her hour-long special, "America's Crime Crisis," Wednesday to discuss how the Golden State's leadership is dealing with the crisis.
McBride called the crime wave a "merry-go-round" as many attribute the violent trend to the 2014 passage of Proposition 47, which lowered the punishments for retail theft.
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"Just last week at a press conference, he said the criminal justice system failed the suspect that killed Jacqueline Avant," McBride stated. "Meaning, if that suspect would have had more programs available to him when he was arrested and his prior arrest, that this could have been avoided. That's delusional."
A security guard stands outside the heavily boarded Shreve & Co. jewelry store in San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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"When people commit violent acts like that, they need to be incarcerated, and what we're seeing is a revolving door, like a merry-go-round here in Los Angeles and in San Francisco," he continued.
Meanwhile, San Francisco Mayor London Breed unveiled a proposal this week, walking back a commitment she made earlier this year to defund the police and funnel the capital back into certain communities.
The proposal, which comes on the heels of a string of smash-and-grab robberies in recent weeks, pushes to bolster law enforcement to tackle the growing violent crime.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 17: San Francisco Mayor London Breed speaks during a news conference outside of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
"Just a year ago, you have San Francisco and Los Angeles and Oakland in California talk about defunding the police. We saw how that experiment went," McBride said. "Crime is crazy. Now they're scrambling, and the thing about politicians is they don't want to admit when their policies are failures."
Smittcamp accused the state's leadership of allowing criminals to run the state because of the culture they have fostered, which she argues lacks both "accountability" and "transparency."
"I say the worst criminal street gang in the state of California has been Kamala Harris, Jerry Brown, George Gascon, Rob Bonta and Gavin Newsom," Smittcamp said. "They support each other, they endorse each other and… they are continuing and causing this chaos."
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California's cities are not the only areas affected by the crime crisis, though.
Chicago and Philadelphia have surpassed their annual homicide records this year already, alongside several other cities experiencing a surge in bloodshed. Other cities that have already broken their annual records include Baton Rouge, Austin, Portland, and Tuscon, among others.
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Former Detroit police chief and Republican candidate in Michigan's gubernatorial election, James Craig, also spoke with Harris Faulkner during the hour-long special, shedding light on how Americans are not on board with the left's criminal justice policies.
"Americans are fed up. They want change. They want strong leadership. They want public service to pay attention to the community," Craig said. " I've talked to those men and women who live, particularly in vulnerable communities, they want effective policing."
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