With the rise of crimes in the community of the San Gabriel Valley, the importance being educated about self-protection become more important than ever. By joining forces with other cities, the San Gabriel Valley will be prepared for possible crimes in the future.

This all started when many Foothill cities, including Arcadia, Glendora, and Monrovia, became concerned about the rise in crime rates each has experienced within the past few years. Officials decided to band together for solutions to this problem.

Three main targets that are three pieces of voter-approved legislation are blamed for the increases in crime. They are A.B. 109, Proposition 47, and Proposition 57. A.B. 109 transferred thousands of felony convicts from state prisons supervised by state parole officers to county jails supervised by county probation officers upon release. Proposition 47 reduced many drugs and property offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. Proposition 57 brought many opportunities for felony convicts to earn time off of their sentences for good behavior and permitted judges the right to decide whether a minor could be tried as an adult.

Monrovia City Manager Oliver Chi states that the legislation is the reason for early release of criminals who are responsible for crime in the cities of the San Gabriel Valley and beyond.

The California Police Chiefs Association is one of the noncity members of the formed coalition. This organization represents police chiefs across the state. Association President and Gardena police Chief Edward Medrano states that “support from the cities is important because change has to come from both law enforcement and elected leaders.” He also said that one of the benefits of the coalition is that it is driven by those who are elected and city managers who see the impacts to their communities, who are struggling to come up with the right solution and proper resourcing of their respective police departments.

In order to solve this problem of the increased crime rate and make our community safer, the coalition plans to add penalties for minor crimes and change some of the classifications made in the current legislation. For example, the coalition hopes to see crimes such as rape of an unconscious person reclassified as a violent crime. Many cities continue to join the coalition, and even representatives from outside the San Gabriel Valley and Southern California have shown interest in joining as well. Let’s hope that they succeed in their plans and make our community a better place.