Source: Monterey County Weekly
Legislation in the realm of criminal justice has a history in California of swinging back and forth like a pendulum, overcorrecting itself each time. Tough-on-crime gets too tough, locking people away; reformers go too far, allowing crime to get out of hand; and the cycle repeats.
When a squadron of public officials gathered at the Steinbeck Center in Salinas on Monday, Aug. 19, flanking California’s Speaker of the Assembly, Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, they were there to celebrate a specific package of 10 bills addressing a surge in retail theft in California cities. But more than that, they were there to express a belief in Rivas, who soared to the position just over a year ago, and his leadership style. By assembling Democrats and Republicans, career cops and lobbyists, on one stage together, they were there to speak only partly about the specifics of the retail theft package – mostly they were there to say there is a real path to legislate through compromise.