An increase in violent crimes, petty crimes, and the concerns of constituents have drawn the attention of Councilmember Amy Bublak. With citizens of Turlock notifying Councilmember Bublak about their concerns, she has requested a staff update discussing crime trends and how the City government is keeping the community safe.

“A lot of people think there’s accountability issues here, and that we need to be handling it different. I’d like to see if we are,” stated Councilmember Bublak.

Citizens who contacted Councilmember Bublak conveyed to her concerns over crime and quality of life issues.

Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, has been problematic and “we’re going to have to face it one way or another.”

Proposition 47 is one the big changes that California has seen in recent years. This proposition changed the sentencing of certain crimes from felony to misdemeanor, and it also allowed resentencing for those currently serving a prison sentence for felony offenses that the initiative reduced to a misdemeanor.

It reduced certain drug possession felonies to misdemeanors, and it also required misdemeanor sentencing for crimes including petty theft, receiving stolen property, and the forging or writing of bad checks when the amount involved is $950 or less.

The proposition was passed in the 2014 general election with 59.6 percent of the vote, totaling over 4 million votes.

The vote total was not echoed in Stanislaus County, as Prop 47 received 52.4 percent “No” votes (47.6 percent “Yes”), totaling 46,552 votes against it.

Spring 2016 Population Projections from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has noted that the population of individuals in an institution was decreased by 6,148 inmates, a total of 4.7 percent. Part of this reduction is attributed to Prop 47.

“…our criminal justice system has went through some major changes over the last few years and we are seeing the impacts of these changes statewide,” noted Turlock Police Chief Robert Jackson.

Chief Jackson will be addressing the issues Councilmember Bublak brought forward at a future council meeting. According to Police Chief Jackson, this update is being pushed to the July 26 City Council Meeting, where the crime trends and what the police department is doing to address these issues will be discussed.