Law enforcement agencies across California are touting mass arrests and prosecutions for drug charges and thefts following the passage of a tough-on-crime ballot measure that increases incarceration for some non-violent offenses.
After decades of reforms to reduce prison overcrowding and prioritize alternatives to incarceration for minor crimes, California voters in November opted to change course. Proposition 36, passed by overwhelming margins, turns some misdemeanor shoplifting and drug-possession cases into felonies that carry prison time and lengthens sentencing for selling drugs and certain property offenses.
