---
[ STATE WATCH ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch)
# Fund The Police: Newsom Responds To California Crime Concerns
December 20 2021
Written by BEN CHRISTOPHER.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
CRIME WATCH - When it comes to law and order, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants California voters to know that he feels your pain — no matter what the statistics say.
Newsom [announced today he will be asking the Legislature](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/12/17/governor-newsom-unveils-public-safety-plan-to-aggressively-fight-and-prevent-crime-in-california/) to spend more than $350 million to ramp up crime-fighting efforts, with the bulk of that cash set aside to help local law enforcement agencies crack down on “organized retail theft.”
The governor is responding to a raft of [flash-mob-style shoplifting incidents](https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/27/group-retail-theft-qa-what-we-know-about-the-bay-areas-trending-crime-problem/)that struck retailers in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas — and that inspired a cascade of headlines about out-of-control crime.
Today’s announcement is the latest indication that [California’s Democratic leaders want to talk tough](https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2021/12/california-crime-democrats/) on crime, even as they defend a decade’s worth of reforms aimed at making the criminal justice system less punitive and discriminatory.
“We’re not walking back on our commitment in this state to advance comprehensive reforms,” the governor said at a press conference at a California Highway Patrol post in Dublin. “But we also have to recognize this moment we’re in. We have to recognize people’s fears and anxieties.”
Indeed, Newsom stressed that his announcement was motivated more by growing public concern about crime than the crime itself.
“I could regale you with facts,” the governor said, noting that despite an apparent increase this year, crime remains at a relative historical low across the state. Earlier this week the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California reported that [both violent and property crime are up after a dip last year](https://www.ppic.org/blog/after-decreases-in-2020-both-property-and-violent-crimes-are-up-in-2021/) in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Oakland. The rates are now roughly “similar to pre-pandemic levels.”
“Stats mean nothing in terms of your feelings,” the governor said.
Newsom went to special lengths to defend Proposition 47 in particular. The 2014 voter-backed initiative reduced penalties for certain low-level offenses, including theft and shoplifting of less than $950, from felonies to misdemeanors. For nearly a decade, conservatives have predicted that the loosened rules would result in a crime wave. Last year, tough-on-crime activists, along with California’s retailers, put a measure on the ballot to ratchet some of those penalties back up. The [measure failed by 24 percentage points](https://calmatters.org/election-2020-guide/proposition-20-crime/).
**“Stats mean nothing in terms of your feelings.” -- GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM, ANNOUNCING A $350 MILLION-PLUS ANTI-CRIME PACKAGE**
But the latest series of high-profile shoplifting raids has revived that debate. Today’s announcement was applauded by the California Retailers Association. “We need to send a message to these theft rings that California will not tolerate organized crime,” association president Rachel Michelin said in a press release.
Senate Republican leader Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita said in a statement: “It shouldn’t have taken increasing homicide rates, widespread news reports of smash-and-grabs, and pleas from Californians for Democrats to come to this realization.”
Palmdale Republican Tom Lackey, vice chairperson of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, called the announcement “too little, too late.” He also lambasted the Democrats as “the party of defunding the police.”
Heading into an election year, Newsom’s budget proposal, most of which would provide additional funding to police and prosecutors, appears intended to leave voters with the opposite impression. Similarly, earlier this week, elected Democratic leaders in [both San Francisco and Los Angeles](https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2021/12/california-crime-democrats/) proposed spending more on police overtime.
If the Democratic Legislature approves [the governor’s proposal](https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Real-Public-Safety-Plan-12.17.21.pdf):
- $255 million in grants would go to local law enforcement agencies over the next three years to combat organized retail crime;
- $30 million would go to local district attorneys over three years , and $18 million would create a new statewide anti-theft team at the attorney general’s office;
- $25 million would fund local gun buy-back programs;
- $20 million would assist the National Guard to intercept fentanyl and other drugs at the Mexico border;
- Some money would be reserved to cover uninsured losses of small businesses that have been ransacked by thieves. The written plan doesn’t specify an amount, but Newsom pegged it at $20 million.
The package will be included in the budget proposal that Newsom will unveil early next month.
Assembly Budget Chairperson Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat, welcomed the package, saying in a press release that looked forward to “teaming up with the Administration and our law enforcement partners on crafting an effective strategy to stop these sophisticated shoplifting rings.”
Standing beside Newsom at the press conference was Attorney General Rob Bonta. Newsom [appointed Bonta](https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/03/newsom-picks-rob-bonta-as-californias-new-attorney-general/) as the state’s top law enforcement officer in March, plucking him from the Assembly where he was one of the body’s most liberal members on criminal justice issues.
Opposition to crime is a bipartisan instinct, Bonta said today. “I’ve not met anyone who wants to be a victim of crime — Republican, Democrat, it doesn’t matter.”
Newsom also restated [his commitment to crafting a bill](https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2021/12/texas-abortion-ban-newsom-assault-weapons/) that would allow California citizens to sue manufacturers and distributors of [prohibited semi-automatic rifles and build-it-yourself “ghost gun” kits](https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-gun-laws-policy-explained/).
That proposal is designed to be a [blue-state rejoinder to a Texas law](https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/12/us/california-gun-control-texas-abortion-legal-tactics/index.html) that gives citizens the right to sue anyone who “[aids and abets](https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB8/id/2395961)” someone in getting an abortion. The U.S. Supreme Court recently [allowed that law to stand](https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/05/texas-abortion-law-supreme-court/), effectively permitting a legislative end-run around what was believed to be a constitutionally protected right under its 1973 *Roe v Wade decision.
“It is a Pandora’s box,” Newsom said of the Supreme Court’s decision not to immediately strike down the Texas law. But, he added, “to the extent this decision is used to put womens’ lives at risk, we’re going to use this decision to save people’s lives by addressing the issue of gun violence here in the state of California.”
*(Ben Christopher covers California politics and elections. Prior to that, he was a contributing writer for CalMatters reporting on the state's economy and budget.)*
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/115 "Brian Goldsmith Vertical R. Col")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/114 "McKinney Campaign")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/98 "Donna Tryfman - HS1-1")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/111 "David DeJute Campaign")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/112 "Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Email
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/113 "Rhonda Haymon campaign")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/110 "Something You Should Know")
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/election-2024/33624-prosecutor-democrat-city-attorney-mckinney-makes-his-case-to-los-angeles-voters)
### [Prosecutor, Democrat, City Attorney? McKinney Makes His Case to Los Angeles Voters](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/election-2024/33624-prosecutor-democrat-city-attorney-mckinney-makes-his-case-to-los-angeles-voters)
ELECTION 2026 - The race for LA City Attorney has been laced with political accusations and allegations that when close…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/la-watchdog/33544-the-la-watchdogs-2026-voters-guide-2)
### [The LA Watchdog’s 2026 Voter Guide](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/la-watchdog/33544-the-la-watchdogs-2026-voters-guide-2)
LA WATCHDOG - My recommendations are influenced by the need for truly balanced budgets, fiscal responsibility, long ter…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33626-the-fools-blame-game)
### [The Fools’ Blame Game](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33626-the-fools-blame-game)
THE VIEW FROM HERE - Angelenos do not use elections to plot a wiser course of conduct for Los Angeles, but rather they…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33619-california-film-tax-credits-arent-enough-the-guilds-need-to-change-too)
### [California Film Tax Credits Aren’t Enough. The Guilds Need to Change Too.](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33619-california-film-tax-credits-arent-enough-the-guilds-need-to-change-too)
LONNIE’S VIEW - California used to be the center of the movie and television universe. If you wanted to make movies, yo…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/voices/33648-heres-what-zionisms-got-to-do-with-it)
### [Here’s What Zionism’s Got To Do With It](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/voices/33648-heres-what-zionisms-got-to-do-with-it)
ICAN - The anonymous website “BHUSD Watch” recently published a long, detailed article about the current BHUSD board an…
---
## [ STATE WATCH ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch/33554-the-real-cost-of-moving-to-san-diego-in-2026-a-neighborhood-by-neighborhood-breakdown)### [The Real Cost of Moving to San Diego in 2026: A Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood Breakdown](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch/33554-the-real-cost-of-moving-to-san-diego-in-2026-a-neighborhood-by-neighborhood-breakdown)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch/33288-60-minutes-governance-breakdown-threatens-californias-ghost-trains-future)### [“60 Minutes": Governance Breakdown Threatens California’s Ghost Train’s Future](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch/33288-60-minutes-governance-breakdown-threatens-californias-ghost-trains-future)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch/33230-california-hates-your-car)### [California Hates Your Car](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch/33230-california-hates-your-car)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch/33134-they-once-taught-about-a-hero-now-faculty-rethink-cesar-chavez-lessons-after-allegations)### [They Once Taught About A Hero. Now Faculty Rethink César Chávez Lessons After Allegations](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch/33134-they-once-taught-about-a-hero-now-faculty-rethink-cesar-chavez-lessons-after-allegations)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch/33125-in-california-880-pedestrians-a-year-are-killed-walking-after-dark-making-it-the-seventh-deadliest-state-in-america-for-nighttime-pedestrian-fatalities)### [In California, 880 Pedestrians a Year Are Killed Walking After Dark, Making It the Seventh Deadliest State in America for Nighttime Pedestrian Fatalities](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/state-watch/33125-in-california-880-pedestrians-a-year-are-killed-walking-after-dark-making-it-the-seventh-deadliest-state-in-america-for-nighttime-pedestrian-fatalities)