LAKE COUNTY
Help fight crime with the Sheriff’s Camera Registration Program
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) wants your help in fighting crime. The Camera Registration Program allows residents and business owners to register the locations of their video surveillance systems with the Sheriff’s Office. When a crime occurs, Deputies will be able to identify the locations of nearby video cameras and enlist the assistance of the community to help deputies collect video evidence and follow up on leads.
Through the program, LCSO will be able to directly contact participants who are using video in an area in which a crime occurred. Deputies would ask participants to check their video surveillance system for a specific date and time for video that may show activity involved with a crime, such as a getaway car or the direction a person of interest was headed. If any video evidence is found, the resident or business owner can make arrangements with Deputies for video retrieval.
Register your camera today. Visit https://lakesheriff.com/ for more information.
—Submitted
SPRING VALLEY
Community assistance/awareness
On Thursday at approximately 3:25 PM LCSO Deputies assisted CHP with a vehicle pursuit on HWY 20 near Spring Valley Road. During the pursuit, law enforcement officers lost sight of the vehicle and believe it could be in the area of Spring Valley. The vehicle is described as a black late model BMW sedan, with the license plate ending in 419. Possible damage to the driver-side side mirror. If seen or located, please do not attempt to contact any of the occupants and contact LCSO dispatch non-emergency line: (707)263-2690 or CHP (707)467-4000.
—Submitted
CALIFORNIA
Pushing for tougher crime laws
You have to give legislative Republicans credit for persistence.
They continue to push some proposals on crime, even though the Democratic-majority Legislature shoots them down, quickly.
On Monday, state Senate GOP leader Brian Jones of San Diego County offered an amendment to repeal a 2022 law that supporters say prevents selective enforcement of prostitution laws against transgender people, but that critics say makes it difficult for law enforcement to crack down on sex trafficking. After about five minutes of statements, the Senate rejected Jones’ amendment on a 29-8 vote, with three absences.
- Jones: “Laying these amendments on the table means letting a bad law stay on the books that isn’t working as intended and is in fact allowing more women and young girls being sex trafficked. It means less arrests of pimps that are sex trafficking and law enforcement having fewer tools to help victims left out in the street.”
Democratic Sen. Mike McGuire from Santa Rosa, in a rebuttal: “The number one commitment of this body is to keep this state safe. It’s not about sound bites, it’s about smart policy.”
On Tuesday, the Senate public safety committee was scheduled to take up a bill from Sen. Roger Niello, a Sacramento Republican, that would make serial theft a felony. This is another effort to roll back Proposition 47, which was approved in 2014 and made shoplifting a misdemeanor as long as the items stolen totaled $950 or less. Critics blame that change for a rash of brazen smash-and-grab thefts of drug stores.
- Niello, in a statement: “Even though Proposition 47 was labeled as ‘Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,’ property crime has increased since its passage, and our communities and businesses are the ones facing the consequences. It is crucial that we hold criminals accountable and make our communities safer.”
Earlier this month, the Assembly public safety committee quashed a Republican bill to increase criminal penalties for domestic violence.
But even if the bills don’t pass, they do get attention — which may be the point.
In a Public Policy Institute of California survey in February, 65% of Californians said they are very or somewhat worried that they or a family member will be a victim of crime. With 2024 election campaigns well underway, highlighting instances where Democrats dismiss tougher crime measures gives Republicans more ammunition to garner support from voters who are anxious about crime.
Even Democratic crime bills sometimes get bogged down. Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer from Los Angeles plans to speak at today’s meeting of the public safety committee, which he leads, about why he put a hold on all fentanyl-related bills.
- Jones-Sawyer, in a statement: “The fentanyl issue requires comprehensive input from a variety of experts and stakeholders in order to establish a united approach to solving the matter. Often there are duplicative efforts put forth, or broad scoped legislation offering temporary solutions or providing no rational solutions at all. Moving forward, I intend to work on this issue by bringing those who understand the causation, prevention and treatment components together with policy makers to ensure we have a tactical solution in hand.”
This includes bills from fellow Democrats, such as one proposed by San Diego Assemblymember Brian Maienschein. His measure would enact harsher penalties to fentanyl dealers if they cause “great bodily injury” or death to a victim. Maienschein expressed disappointment that the committee is not acting with “appropriate urgency” to a deadly crisis.
- Maienschein, in a statement: “With nearly 6,000 Californians dying each year from accidental overdoses due to illicit fentanyl, the decision to delay all legislation that looks at the public safety side of this crisis will undoubtedly cost many more people their lives.”
—Lynn La, CalMatters
