- “With crime already on the decline and reaching historic lows, Proposition 36 has done little more than throw courts into chaos, cost the state and counties millions, and undermine the effective crime prevention programs being funded through.” – Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
- “It’s kind of sad and disappointing that the governor and legislature opted not to provide the funding necessary to do what the voters want to see done.” – Jonathan Raven, assistant chief executive of the California District Attorneys Association
CALIFORNIA – Proposition 36, once promoted as a sweeping treatment-first approach to drug addiction and petty theft, is failing to deliver on its promises to voters, according to a press release issued this week by Californians for Safety and Justice (CSJ).
The measure empowers prosecutors to charge individuals who repeatedly commit petty theft and drug crimes with felonies, but allows the charges to be dropped if the accused completes a treatment program, Mercury News reported.
Voters passed Proposition 36 because it was marketed as “a pathway to ‘mass treatment’” for drug addiction, CSJ said. It was designed to allow courts to work with addiction experts to coordinate care for repeat drug offenders.
But CSJ argues the proposition has failed due to a lack of infrastructure, effectively creating what the group calls a “treatment-mandated felony.” Most people arrested and prosecuted under the law are incarcerated instead of directed to treatment, CSJ said, which “[undermines] the very premise proponents relied on to sell the measure to voters.”
Observers have long noted the measure’s shortcomings.*
“There’s simply not enough treatment capacity to accommodate the number of people referred into treatment,” Robb Layne, executive director of the California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives, told the Mercury News.
The measure’s ineffectiveness is evident, with it “[only] compelling a few dozen people into addiction or mental health programs,” the Mercury News reported.
Supporters of the measure’s original intent blame the failure on the governor and state lawmakers, who they say refused to fund treatment programs and law enforcement to make Proposition 36 workable.
“It’s kind of sad and disappointing that the governor and legislature opted not to provide the funding necessary to do what the voters want to see done,” said Jonathan Raven, assistant chief executive of the California District Attorneys Association, according to the Mercury News.
CSJ added that statistics released by the California Department of Justice last month further undermine one of Proposition 36’s key promises — that it was needed to reduce property crime.
The DOJ reported that property crime in California was at a 59-year low in 2024, before Proposition 36 even took effect.
“With crime already on the decline and reaching historic lows, Proposition 36 has done little more than throw courts into chaos, cost the state and counties millions, and undermine the effective crime prevention programs being funded through [other propositions],” the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice said in response to the DOJ data.
“Proponents of Proposition 36 said the measure was necessary to reduce property crime and get people the help they needed. They lied. The truth is they pulled off the biggest con of California voters in recent history,” CSJ executive director Tinisch Hollins said.
CSJ also said data shows the proposition has disproportionately harmed people of color in some parts of the state.
According to the Voice of San Diego, 32 percent of the 374 individuals arrested under Proposition 36 in San Diego were Black, though Black people make up only 6 percent of the city’s population.
The outlet further reported that Black San Diegans made up 40 percent of those arrested for a second Proposition 36 offense, underscoring racial disparities in enforcement.
Some observers say these findings echo historic inequities in policing and prosecution, the Voice of San Diego wrote.
“Proposition 36 dismantled funding for the treatment they promised to deliver, leaving courts overwhelmed, behavioral health systems under-resourced, and vulnerable people trapped in a cycle of incarceration instead of care,” Hollins said.
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- Correction: the article originally implied the CAADPE was a supporter of Prop 36, “CAADPE has not endorsed or supported Prop 36“
