Petty crimes, otherwise known as less-important crimes to many, are looked at and judged heavily by California’s law enforcement officers. Proposition 47, the Reduced Penalties for Some Crimes Initiative, is an act, that reduces penalties for petty crimes. Crimes that meet the criteria are often minor and nonviolent. The proposition was on the November 4 election day ballot, and was passed by Californians. Reduced penalties because of the act will include misdemeanor charges instead of felony charges for some, and offenders of crimes that follow the criteria can request a hearing in which a smaller penalty than what they are already serving can be given. Proposition 47 could help California with money issues and safety for local communities.

According to a description of proposition 47 on ballotpedia.org, crimes that can be reduced from felonies to misdemeanors include shoplifting an item that would cost less than $1,000, personal use of most illegal drugs, minor cases of forgery, and more.This project will help out offenders of these crimes that might not have even known this crime was committed. Although the crime “fell through”, if evidence can prove that fault is not on the culprit’s behalf, he or she deserves to have the penalty reduced, if not lifted. The act would also help prisons focus more on jailing culprits of serious crimes instead of wasting space on committers of less important crimes, such as the minor ones mentioned. Along with this note, the act would help maintain public safety by keeping current murderers, rapists, and kidnappers imprisoned. By doing this, citizens would be safer during their everyday lives.

Proposition 47 will also help reduce the spending of prisons and reduce the wasting of the government’s money. This project is said to save hundreds of millions of dollars because of the money that will no longer be wasted in keeping petty crime offenders in jail, and will help fund crime-prevention strategies in schools. The act will fund mental health and drug prevention to stop crime, according to an online article about proposition 47, found on voterguide.gov. To summarize, the money saved is going to be spent on truancy prevention, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and victim services.

On the other hand, with proposition 47 giving a bit more edge to petty crime offenders, the act could very well influence the wrong people to commit more of these crimes. Less attention to petty crimes will mean offenders committing these crimes a bit more continuously, and on top of that, prisons would begin to release inmates with dangerous and harmful reputations. Plus, if inexpensive harmful items are stolen, there could be a lesser penalty for stealing something like a firearm.

Proposition 47 is a strong act to help California’s schools and public areas safe, and if the right protection is given, California would be even more of a safe haven to all of its residents. With less people crowding jails and police working towards keeping California’s citizens protected, proposition 47 would not only benefit not so faulty crime committers, but students and families all over the state.