I’ve been hearing more and more from friends in the Sheriff’s office, Santa Cruz Police Department and Watsonville PD, about how they feel undermined by our DA and Judges. Imagine going to work every day, putting your life on the line for the community, only to have criminals released back to the streets within hours. This is exactly the situation that our LEOs experience every day.

They can’t speak up for political reasons, which is why I’ve chosen to. 

I recently saw a court case for a criminal with over 50 citations where, with the swipe of a pen, a judge erased all of the charges citing “hardship.” This doesn’t seem fair when law abiding citizens don’t get the same lenient treatment. I saw another case where the judge allowed a violent felon to walk away free after being caught several more times making threats and carrying the same weapon that got them into trouble for the original charge. There are a large number of people in Santa Cruz with over 50, 100, 150+ arrests…and the DA and judges do nothing to help them make better choices. What about court mandated drug treatment?

It sure seems like the local courts don’t care about cops. They don’t care about our downtown business community. They don’t care about the average citizen who gets their car rummaged through and their bikes stolen. They don’t care about sending people with substance use disorder back out on the streets with no support to potentially die from overdose. They don’t care about making the community better. Honestly, what do they care about?

This petition has been active for over a month now and not one of the members of the county Board of Supervisors has commented. That says something. 

Please continue sharing this petition!