Calif. police union: ACLU to blame for rise in crime

A mannequin is seen on the street after a store was broken into in Hollywood, California. 

 

California police unions have claimed California voters were lied to by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) following a recent surge of crime in Los Angeles. They added the ACLU is to blame for the recent uptick in smash-and-grab robberies.

According to the president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, voters were lied to with the implementation of Proposition 47. The union said the prop, known as the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” lowered the level of offense for six types of crimes.

This means crimes, including theft under $950, are only to be classified as misdemeanors. David Swing of the State Police Chief Association said this has only made criminals more calculated.

“Some criminals are actually shopping with calculators and they’re adding up the dollar amount as they are stealing stuff to keep it under that $950 threshold,” said Swing.

Others went on to point out these smash-and-grab thieves aren’t stealing groceries to feed their families, but are instead, ransacking high-end stores to make high profits.

In a recent interview, the president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League spoke on the matter saying, “when society removes accountability for bad behavior, criminals get emboldened to commit more crimes.” This comes after two major instances of theft broke out in Los Angeles County on Black Friday.

One group of eight males in their teens robbed a local Home Depot. Another group of armed men then robbed a luxury store on Melrose Avenue.

A citywide tactical alert was placed for Los Angeles residents, but was shortly removed Saturday. In the meantime, Los Angeles Police said they’re working to tackle this spike in crime.

“We’re monitoring the situation with the smash-and-grab robberies across the country very closely. We have a close relationship with LAPD and local authorities, and are working very closely with them to make sure that we’re prepared,” said Louis Schillace, the senior general manager at Westfield Century City.

Police unions believe the ACLU is essentially “rolling out the red carpet” for criminals in California. However, in an effort to combat this, five California police unions are sponsoring a movement called the “ACLU Watch” dedicated to safeguarding victims and holding criminals accountable.