Lakewood to Gascon: More prosecutions, please
The city's public safety director is compiling a list of 100 unprosecuted cases to present to District Attorney George Gascon, whose directives have cutback on misdemeanor prosecutions.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIF. — In a bid to get District Attorney George Gascon to increase criminal prosecutions, Lakewood is creating a list of 100 cases the district attorney’s office declined to pursue.
“We appreciate intervention, prevention, diversion, rehabilitation,” said Councilman Todd Rogers at the May 25 City Council meeting, “but we also appreciate enforcement. And, when it’s appropriate, some folks just need to be incarcerated.”
Gascon held on May 19 a meeting with councilmembers from several southeast Los Angeles County cities, including Rogers. At issue is Gascon’s Dec. 7 directives that, among other things: put criminal suspects onto the streets by limiting the use of cash bail; directing county prosecutors not to prosecute misdemeanors unless they meet certain exceptions; not prosecuting juveniles accused of misdemeanors; and, ending all sentencing enhancements.
Some sentencing enhancements—such as those relating to cases involving victims who are children, elderly, minorities and disabled—were reinstated after deputy district attorneys took Gascon to court and won.
Rogers described the meeting as a “productive conversation” and said Gascon was responding to concerns over his policy changes. The no-confidence votes against Gascon also may have had a role in forcing the meeting, Rogers said.
“Mr. Gascon is doing a new approach to public safety,” said Mario Trujillo, special advisor to Gascon and a Downey councilman, who noted that the district attorney was elected on such a platform. “We’re going to increase equity and fairness.”
The May 19 meeting was to be informative to help councilmembers understand the role of the district attorney and not conflate issues like quality of life crimes, Trujillo said. Prosecutions of low-level misdemeanor crimes make people less safe since it could lead to recidivism among criminals.
The district attorney’s office must look out for the interests of victims, the accused and witnesses, Trujillo said, explaining that testifying can be a traumatic experience. Gascon is also focused on police officer accountability to address the distrust between communities and law enforcement.
“We represent the people of the state of California. That’s everyone,” Trujillo said. “We don’t just represent victims.”
Rogers said he told Gascon that Lakewood was concerned about 100 unprosecuted cases involving arrests concerning quality of life crimes and more serious ones. Public Safety Director Joshua Yordt was working on compiling those cases after Gascon asked for specific examples of such unprosecuted cases.
“Give us cases, examples,” Trujillo said. “We want actual cases so we can figure out what is going on.”
The case list would be used by Gascon to evaluate filing decisions by the district attorney’s staff, Rogers said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is still compiling the cases, Rogers wrote in an email Thursday.
Rogers reported to the Council that the district attorney stated support for a public health model when dealing with criminal justice offenders, looking for cures as opposed to mass incarceration.
The longtime councilman and former commanding officer of the Carson Sheriff’s Station said Lakewood was dedicated to community policing and had no problem with a public health model. However, Rogers said that there weren’t enough resources to put misdemeanor offenders into such public health programs and that there is nothing to force such offenders into completing rehabilitation programs.
“There is no stick if folks decide not to take the carrot,” Rogers said.
“Drug court did not work,” said Trujillo, regarding the rehabilitation program that could lead to a dismissal of criminal charges, when told about Rogers’ complaint.
Trujillo said that the completion rate in the drug court program was low. He added that a “stick” didn’t help motivate those with mental health and addiction problems.
“They don’t respond to that because of obvious issues,” Trujillo said. “The carrot and stick approach did not work.”
The district attorney’s office is still prosecuting violent criminals and 62 percent of the cases the office files are still misdemeanors, Trujillo said. He noted that even under previous district attorneys, from former Sheriff Lee Baca’s time in office to current Sheriff Alex Villanueva, that criminals would still only serve a day or week on 180-day sentences.
“Yet people want to blame (Gascon),” Trujillo said.
Rogers told the Council that the concerns he raised were shared by every city, including Cudahy and Downey. The Lakewood Populist has tried finding the Downey councilmember who attended the meeting, sending an email to all of Downey’s councilmembers.
Rogers also said that Lakewood councilmembers were the ones held accountable for public safety, not the county’s Board of Supervisors, nor Gascon.
Trujillo said the Dec. 7 directives didn’t dictate city policy, nor impede officers. The sheriff’s department, he said, was still responsible for patrolling the city and responding to calls, investigating and arresting when necessary.
Law enforcement has the power to arrest and hold someone for 48 hours, Trujillo said.
Regarding rising crime, Trujillo said this wasn’t merely a county phenomenon.
“Crime is on the rise everywhere,” said Trujillo, including conservative areas like Texas.
The district attorney’s office looks forward to more meetings with councilmembers and collaboration in implementing Gascon’s new approach to public safety, Trujillo said.
Rogers told the Council that he didn’t know if the list of 100 unprosecuted cases would lead to any change in policy. However, he told the Council that a report from Yordt about the compiled cases and any response from Gascon would be forthcoming.
Good things could come to Lakewood should Gascon initiate a change in filing decisions.
“We can hold the offenders accountable who are disrupting the quality of life and the tranquility of the neighborhoods in Lakewood,” said Rogers describing such benefits.
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