LA Times Calls Mayor Out For 'Fear-Mongering'

Tuesday, October 4, 2011
If you watched Mayor Villaraigosa's press conference yesterday, you might have walked away with the impression that Los Angeles is about to become a lawless, violent and impoverished metropolis as a result of a new plan to reduce the state inmate population.

The Mayor, flanked by Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, claimed that "Sacramento is transferring more than 4,200 offenders to Los Angeles" and that they weren't coming with any extra budgetary support, reports CBS Los Angeles.

For his part, Chief Beck called the state's prison reduction plan an "unfunded mandate" that would result in longer emergency response times and unsafe communities for Angelenos, as he would have to divert 150 police officers to probation duties instead of street patrol.

But is that an accurate depiction of California's "prison realignment" act? The Los Angeles Times thinks not. In an op-ed published last night, columnist Robert Greene accuses both of them of either being ignorant or cynically fear-mongering the public into thinking "hordes of new criminals are coming to town" to suit their political purposes.
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