Prop 36 prioritizes drug treatment for repeat offenders as retail crime falls

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Proposition 36, the caller authorities instrumentality tied to a alteration successful retail theft, besides offers a way guardant for repetition cause offenders.

"It takes radical respective times to discontinue erstwhile they get benignant of trapped into the substance use," David Daniel astatine WestCare California said. "So they request clip to travel through."

"We walk months sitting with a person, moving with them, and figuring retired what their needs are," helium added. "And then, hopefully, returning them to nine astatine a antithetic spot than erstwhile they came in, arsenic opposed to conscionable axenic incarceration."

Proposition 36 empowers prosecutors to ace down connected retail theft and besides places a caller accent connected cause crimes.

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The instrumentality establishes a caller tribunal process prioritizing clip successful attraction implicit jail.

"It's evidently astir accountability, but it's truly astir rehabilitation," District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp said during a caller interview.

Smittcamp and her prosecutors tin present prosecute "treatment-mandated felonies."

"It is astir having that enactment if they don't get with the programme and bash what they request to do, which is halt the theft and get into attraction if they person a cause problem," she said.

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The latest information reviewed by Action News reveals that successful 7 months, region prosecutors person filed 48 treatment-mandated felonies. Three are undergoing cause attraction programs, and six much could soon beryllium sentenced.

"It took 10 years for america to get to this disastrous position, and it's not going to beryllium fixed successful six months oregon a year, but we are decidedly making strides each azygous day," Smittcamp said.

Opponents of Prop 36 disquieted it would unit radical into attraction and told voters programs mightiness not ever beryllium needed oregon helpful.

"We ever find that radical travel in," Daniel. "And generally, people, if they cognize that you're present for them and to their benefit, past they ever are receptive to our assistance."

With treatment-mandated sentences present being handed down, Valley officials are waiting to spot however overmuch authorities backing each region volition get for these programs.

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