California will soon decriminalize jaywalking, which will do away with enforcement of a policy that critics say allows police to punish pedestrians with needlessly expensive fines, often in racially-motivated ways.
In September, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Freedom To Walk Act, which will decriminalize jaywalking in the state. Critics have long noted that anti-jaywalking laws, which criminalize crossing the street outside of designated crosswalks, often levy harsh fines on pedestrians and do little to increase public safety. They argue those laws give the police a reason to write hefty tickets disproportionately to black and Hispanic pedestrians. California, which pioneered anti-jaywalking statutes, is reversing course—a decision that other states will hopefully replicate.
