California continues to fall victim to the left’s nonsensical vision of a utopia.
The Center Square reported Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon has piled up over 15,000 unfiled criminal cases.
Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman plans to run against Gascon in November and gave his version of the situation: “Murders in LA are increasing while falling throughout the country, robberies are up significantly,” he told the outlet. “Gun violence is a huge problem in LA and not charging gun enhancements, and not prosecuting juvenile gun murderers is the wrong policy.”
Hochman continued, saying, “There is now reportedly a backlog of 15,000 unfiled cases that are gathering dust because prosecuting crime is not a priority to Gascon.”
The numbers speak to the danger Hochman has seen.
According to data gathered by The Center Square, for Jan. 1 through June 1 in 2024, robberies increased 17.6 percent year-over-year compared to the same time frame in 2023. Homicides increased 11 percent, motor vehicle theft increased 5.2 percent and burglaries increased 2.4 percent.
In January, the office of LA Mayor Karen Bass released the Los Angeles Police Department’s crime statistics for 2023, which showed a 3.5 percent increase in property crimes when compared to 2022.
Motor vehicle thefts also showed an increase by 2 percent compared to the previous year.
What exactly is DA Gascon doing — or not doing — to create these numbers?
Again, The Center Square shed light on his prosecutorial style, or lack thereof, upon taking office in 2020.
Gascon sought to not prosecute minors for any misdemeanors, while directing most felony charges for minors to diversion programs. He also chose to not prosecute 13 common misdemeanors, including public drinking, public intoxication, driving without a license, driving with a suspended license, trespassing and loitering to commit prostitution.
With Gascon as DA and California’s Proposition 47 from 2014, many drug crimes and thefts under $950 in value became misdemeanors. Minors don’t need to worry in LA if they can steal, burglarize and shoplift with impunity.
LA also began zero bail for several crimes in October of 2023, so those who have been arrested are on the streets again with little delay.
Considering the above, Californians are taking notice.
Rather than opting for reform and electing better officials, many who are able are choosing an exodus.
In December, KTTV-TV reported over 75,000 people left the state in 2023. While New York saw over 100,000 people leave, that number is significant, as many titans of industry and media decided to take their business elsewhere — Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Texas and Washington topping that list.
Clearly, a heavy dose of “progressivism” is killing California and making its streets unsafe. Gascon wants to be a DA without actually doing what the job requires by going after criminals. Law-abiding people won’t stand for it.
The left’s policies in California stem from a warped moral compass in seeing criminals as victims of the system who need only leniency and compassion to change their ways.
This kind of thinking has only destroyed what should be a magnificent and thriving state.
LA is just one city in one county, but Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom leads the charge. Even if the streets were safe, the state’s economy became less welcoming, as a $20 fast-food minimum wage law has led to price hikes, layoffs and businesses leaving altogether.
Americans are fortunate to have freedom of movement. We do not have to stay in one state, tolerating incompetent leadership. Californians see the benefit of constitutionalism in government stemming from a strong conservative base elsewhere.
Not every red state is perfect, but new arrivals won’t live in fear of an incompetent system that can’t even go after the bad guys.
Californians are making a choice, and the numbers speak to it.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
