SBPOA President Declares Support for Repeal of Proposition 47

Questions related to the leak of closed-session information also of concern.

In a recent interview on a local radio station, (KMET-1490 San Bernardino/Riverside ABC News Station), the San Bernardino Police Officers Association President, Sergeant Jon Plummer, made a significant declaration. He expressed his organization’s unwavering support for the repeal of Proposition 47, a soft-on-crime measure that has been linked to many of California’s crime issues, particularly in economically disadvantaged cities like San Bernardino.

Proposition 47 lightened sentencing for many crimes to the point that all the criminal will get if caught is a ticket and a summons to appear in court.  The law has allowed car theft and carjacking to grow wildly in the state. Police officers in San Bernardino and other cities now refer to car theft as “criminal Uber,” as thieves often steal cars to commit another crime.

Retail theft has also exploded. Many in law enforcement surmise that is because the law was changed under Proposition 47 that shoplifting is not considered a serious criminal offense until a threshold of $950 is reached to classify the theft as a felony, which is the only way the crime carries any significant punishment.

“We are 100% in favor of the repeal of Proposition 47. It’s the smart thing to do. And that’s not from a police standpoint. It’s to keep our city and other cities safe—100%. We stand behind it,” Plummer said.

Not only police organizations support the repeal of Proposition 47. Others in the law enforcement training and education intelligentsia, such as Dr. Currie Meyers, author of the book “The Rise of Feral Man” and professor of Criminology at University, have echoed the support for repeal. “If there is no deterrence for anti-social behaviors, those behaviors will grow,” said Dr. Meyers.  “Proposition 47 is a criminal’s dream and needs desperately to be repealed.”

Supporters of repealing Proposition 47 have turned in more than 900,000 voter signatures to qualify for the 2024 November General Election.

Sergeant Plummer also shared concerns regarding the recent leak of information from closed-session council meetings.

According to a report issued by the City of San Bernardino, by the firm that investigated the leak, Councilmember Kimberly Calvin gave information from closed-session council meetings to Treasure Ortiz, (now running for office in Ward 7 against long-time city attorney Jim Penman) who then spread the information via social media, at city council meetings, and in a radio interview.  This violation of the Brown Act caused the leading candidate for the City Manager position to withdraw, and he was subsequently terminated from his post as City Manager of Salinas.  These actions have placed the City of San Bernardino in legal jeopardy of being sued by the city manager candidate.

Calvin has since been censured by the council and has put Treasure Ortiz in a bad light as she runs for council, Plummer said. “If these allegations are true, I would not want that person to be sitting on the council making decisions for the citizens, and the stakeholders within this city. I will say that it does not help us in our progression to make this city a safer, better one. These scandals and media headlines do nothing for us but further damage the city.“

The full interview can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@SBPOA.