Sacramento County Crime & Justice Digest

Sacramento area law enforcement and business leaders held a press conference on January 15 to announce a regional collaboration to enforce the recently passed Proposition 36. Read on for details.

State prisoners have long been a part of California’s firefighting force. Hundreds of them now are deployed in Los Angeles County.

Following a 2023 audit of Capital Public Radio finances by the California State University Chancellor’s Office, a lawsuit has been filed against the former general manager. Read on to learn why and what comes next.

Read on for the Sacramento Bee's summary of the CapRadio financial report.

Read on to learn what Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho had to say in his January 8 "State of Public Safety" address.

After two reparations bills stalled in the final day of session last year, reparation advocates are campaigned at the state Capitol to drum up support for the same measures.

While cities in California continue to pass ordinances to combat illegal sideshows, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several laws that go into effect this year statewide to give municipalities more legal tools to address them. 

California legislators want to limit deportation actions at schools, but they can’t ban immigration officials.

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS ARE proving that they play a vital role when it comes to public safety in California. The California Reentry Institute, directed by Collette Carroll to help potential parolees, has graduated more than 230 incarcerated individuals in San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.

Californians accused of certain drug and retail theft crimes may already be facing stiffer penalties under an initiative voters passed this year, alongside related bills Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law. 

In a December 17 press conference, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho and Sheriff Jim Cooper announced local enforcement of Proposition 36. Read on to learn more about their plans.

California recorded historically high numbers of deaths in county jails for the past six years. Now, counties expect to house more prisoners as Prop. 36 takes effect.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Racial Justice Act into law in September 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd. For the first time, defendants can put bias from any brush with the criminal legal system — from arrest to sentencing — on the stand.

California wants to protect witnesses in workplace investigations from deportation, but the Biden administration program for undocumented employees is at risk with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

With proponents of Proposition 36 raising nearly $15 million so far — about three times as much as its opponents — and 71% of likely voters in support, it appears the statewide ballot measure will pass in November.
And that’s exactly what immigrant rights advocates are worried about.

Supporters of a proposition to ban forced labor in California prisons believe they have a strong message centered on rehabilitation. But as Election Day nears, polls show it’s a toss-up or trailing.

The state Labor Commissioner sometimes struggles to get back pay to workers when it reaches wage theft settlements. It tries social media, TV and hotlines. But money owed to employees is still sitting in state accounts.

The Mercury News guide to the anti-crime and ant-drug dealing measure Proposition 36 on the November ballot.

On September 19, Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper announced that enough fentanyl to kill the population of Elk Grove had recently been seized after being smuggled into two county jail facilities.

The UC Regents approved campus requests for more tools for UC police months after campus protesters clashed with law enforcement.

Worries about retail theft and fentanyl deaths shaped a November ballot measure that would toughen some criminal penalties. Here are the facts about California crime trends.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce announced its support of the anti-crime measure on the November ballot.

For five years, California officials responding to the homelessness crisis had to work around one big restriction imposed by the federal courts: Because they didn’t have enough shelter beds, cities generally couldn’t make homeless camps illegal.

More than two-dozen California cities passed, strengthened or are considering ordinances that penalize people for sleeping outside, after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed cities to crack down.

The Elk Grove News reports on the continuing strike by Sacramento County criminal attorneys.

In their August 28 meeting, the Citrus Heights City Council voted unanimous support for Proposition 36 on the November ballot.

California Highway Patrol officers received historically high raises in 2022 and 2023, but it continues to face a high vacancy rate of 16%.

In their August 27 meeting the Sacramento City Council approved an update to the police military equipment policy.

On August 26, over 200 Sacramento County criminal attorneys went on strike, demanding higher pay and better conditions.

In the final week of session, legislators are debating whether to give more leeway to public school teachers when to report students to law enforcement. Supporters say disabled and students of color are unfairly disciplined, but opponents say school safety is at risk.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken to using state resources to fight crime on a local level. Not everyone in the cities he’s taken an interest in is thrilled with the results.

The Sacramento Bee explains Proposition 6, the initiative to ban involuntary servitude.