Sacramento sheriff blasts liberal 'soft-on-crime' policies: Doing nothing to stop criminals
Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones says he's running for Congress to tackle progressive policies that he argues treat criminals like the victim.
Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones criticized the liberal "soft-on-crime" policies in California that he believes treat criminals like the victim. He said President Biden’s attempt to crack down on ghost guns will do nothing to stop the criminals who possess them.
On "Fox & Friends" Tuesday, Jones said gun control laws only impact law-abiding gun owners. This comes after Biden announced a ban on manufacturing "ghost guns," which are firearms made at home without a serial number.
"This is not a gun control issue, this is a criminal control issue," Jones told host Brian Kilmeade.
Biden’s crackdown on guns follows a recent gang-related mass shooting in Sacramento that left six dead. One of the suspects, Smiley Martin, had been released early from a 10-year prison sentence despite opposition from the county DA’s office which warned he was still dangerous.
Jones noted the suspects in the recent shooting had obtained their guns illegally.
"All these legislators and politicians in Washington pat each other on the back after these mass murders and think they’re doing God’s work by passing more gun legislation, but they’re doing nothing to stop the criminals that are possessing these weapons and wreaking havoc," he said.
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Jones said he is running for Congress in a bid to address the "upside-down" liberal policies that he says aren’t helping America.
He said Smiley Martin’s case is not unique.
Sacramento Police crime scene investigators place evidence markers on 10th street at the scene of a mass shooting in Sacramento, Calif., on Sunday, April 3, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)
"This is every criminal. All up and down the state and all across this nation, they’re all getting out early or they’re staying out of jail and prison in the first place," he said.
Jones said the recidivism rate in California is as high as 70% in some areas, which is why he believes violent crime is surging nationwide.
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"Look, if you’re in prison, we know that the recidivism rate is zero," he said. "They’re out of prison, they’re not going to prison? They are committing crimes."
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