Fresno County District Attorney supports amending Proposition 47
The operator of Campus Pointe and River Park says retail theft is a problem here in Fresno.
FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Enough is enough. That is the message Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp rallied behind on Tuesday.
"California has gone mad, really," she said. "The lack of accountability and responsibility is affecting everything."
Smittcamp and several other local law enforcement officials and area business people say they are getting behind a new ballot referendum.
The Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act would reverse Proposition 47.
That referendum, passed by California voters in 2014, recategorized some drug and property crimes from felonies to lesser misdemeanors.
But in the nine years since it passed at the ballot box, Smittcamp says crime has skyrocketed.
"We have more drug addicts than we've ever had, and we have people committing more theft crimes, more violent crimes, more domestic violence and child abuse," she said.
While ABC News has previously reported that violent crime has fallen in Fresno and nationwide, crimes like brazen smash and grabs happen around the state.
The operator of Campus Pointe and River Park says retail theft is a problem here in Fresno.
"It's so well organized in terms of the theft," the president of Lance Kashian & Co., Sal Gonzales, said. "So, as well-organized as the thieves are, we have to combat it twice as well. What it means is (an) increase in dollars for security, technology."
Smittcamp, Gonzales, and other supporters of the new ballot initiative say their solution would make communities safer.
Retail thieves with two or more prior convictions would face felony charges.
For previously convicted drug dealers, their third charge could mandate addiction treatment.
But Claudia Gonzalez at the Root and Rebound re-entry organization says it is still a flawed form of punishment.
"We support getting people the services they need," Gonzalez said. "But the thing is, it shouldn't be imposed on people. Addiction and mental health should not be criminalized."
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