The Brief

District Attorney George Gascón came under withering criticism during a debate in downtown Los Angeles Thursday night that featured 10 of the 12 candidates vying to be the county’s top prosecutor.

Gascón instituted a sweeping set of reforms after he was elected in 2020. Many of them focused on reducing penalties for people convicted of crimes. He said it was an effort to reduce mass incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

“What I will continue to do if I were to be honored with being reelected is continue (with a policy) that cares for the victims of our community and does so in a thoughtful and intelligent way,” Gascón said at the debate.

But his opponents argued that the incumbent’s reforms had made Angelenos less safe. One — Nathan Hochman, a criminal defense attorney and a former Republican candidate for California attorney general — said the changes had heralded a “golden age of criminals,” because they were spending less time behind bars.

Other candidates agreed.

“The social experiment that Mr. Gascón has been engaging with is not working,” said Eric Siddall, a deputy district attorney and one of four of Gascón’s own prosecutors running to unseat him. Siddall said serious offenders are being treated too leniently.

Superior Court Judge Debra Archuleta, a former prosecutor, said Gascón’s policies have eroded public safety.

“The question, ladies and gentlemen, is: Are we safer than we were three years ago? Unequivocally we are not,” she said.

Fears about safety are up, violent crime is down

According to a Gallup poll released in November, fear for personal safety is at a three-decade high around the country. The poll found 40% of Americans said they would be afraid to walk alone at night within a mile of their home. Gallup has been asking that question since 1963.

Gallup’s annual crime poll also found 77% of Americans believe there is more crime in the U.S. than a year ago.

“We have a society right now in Los Angeles who feels really unsafe,” said Jon Hatami, one of Gascón’s deputy district attorneys. He promised to prosecute people “to the fullest extent of the law.”

But crime is trending downward, according to criminologist Jeff Asher. FBI third-quarter national data last year found violent crime fell 8% while property crime fell 6.3% in 2023 compared to 2022, according to Asher. Violent crime nationally has trended downward for at least 30 years according to FBI data.

Los Angeles Police Department data show violent crime is down 10.8% and property crime is down 18% year to date from two years ago.

At the debate, Gascón pointed to this as evidence his policies work.

“We have seen crime coming down not only in our community but we’re seeing crime going down nationwide, at the same time we have continued with the reform effort,” said Gascón, a former LAPD assistant chief who was also district attorney in San Francisco.

Challengers said his more lenient approach to crime has created an atmosphere of impunity in L.A. County as evidenced in part by “smash and grab” robberies by groups of people caught on videotape. There have also been several high-profile cases where people who committed serious crimes received relatively light sentences.

“We have to restore the public’s trust that we are doing the job that we have to do to keep them safe,” said Deputy District Attorney Maria Ramirez. She called Gascón’s policies “pro-criminal.”

Gascón said his office is prosecuting violent crimes, including violent misdemeanors, “at the same rate” as previous district attorneys.

“We are dealing with organized retail theft, we are dealing with fentanyl,” he said. “The reality is that all of that work is being done and will continue to be done if I were to be reelected.”

Prosecuting misdemeanors

One of Gascón’s policies is aimed at misdemeanor crimes. His office declines to file charges involving 13 categories of low-level misdemeanors, including driving on a suspended license, drug and paraphernalia possession, and public intoxication. The policy calls for misdemeanor charges only when there are extenuating circumstances, like repeat offenses.

Gascón has said many people accused of misdemeanors are unhoused, drug-addicted and/or mentally ill, and that prosecuting them is unfair and has minimal effect on public safety.

Craig Mitchell, a Superior Court judge and former prosecutor and high school teacher, said he would prosecute misdemeanors. “Police are turning a blind eye to so many crimes because they know nothing is going to happen even if they bring the case to the district attorney,” he said.

“We need to figure out how to get people who are engaged in low-level crimes into the criminal justice system so that those who are crying out for mental health treatment, for addiction treatment, can actually be encouraged to obtain such treatment,” he said.

Many of the other candidates echoed a similar sentiment, saying the D.A.’s office should use the prosecutions of unhoused people who commit crimes to steer them into social services in exchange for dropping criminal charges.

Almost all of the candidates said they would generally seek tougher penalties than Gascon.

“I will repeal any vestige and replace any vestige of the original directives issued by George Gascón,” said John McKinney, a deputy district attorney. “Much of what he imposed upon us … were a set of one-size-fits-all blanket policies.”

Leadership in the district attorney's office

The policies have outraged many in the district attorney's office, where individual prosecutors have far less discretion and morale is said to be at an all-time low.

“The office is in crisis,” said Siddall, who presented himself as part of “a new generation of prosecutors” who neither embraces Gascón’s more liberal policies nor wants to “to turn back the clock” to policies that fuel mass incarceration. He said he would focus his attention on the small percentage of people who commit violent crimes, if elected.

Some candidates at the debate argued they would be tougher on crime than the rest.

“I’m law and order. I’m conservative,” said retired Superior Court Judge David Milton, the only registered Republican running in the non-partisan race. Milton said Gascon is part of a national movement of liberal prosecutors.

“Their aim is to destroy our constitutional democratic republic,” he said. “Gascon is moving in the direction of socialism and communism.”

Former federal prosecutor Jeff Chemerinsky focused less on Gascón and instead promised to increase cooperation between the district attorney’s office and local law enforcement.

“I’d collaborate with law enforcement and restore the sense of partnership that I think right now is lacking,” Chemerinsky said.

He was the only challenger to agree with Gascón that Proposition 47 need not be amended. The 2014 voter-approved measure reduced six crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, including simple drug possession petty theft under $950.

Gascón was a co-author of the measure.

Two candidates — criminal defense attorney Dan Kapelovitz and San Bernardino Deputy District Attorney Lloyd Bobcat Masson — did not attend the debate. Kapelovitz said he was not invited. The sponsor, LA Magazine, did not provide a reason why.

Four million acres of California’s wildest backcountry could soon be opened to paving roads and logging.

The Trump administration announced last week that it’s pushing forward with a proposal to scrap a 2001 rule that blocks logging, road building and other construction in parts of national forests. The administration argues repealing the so-called “roadless rule” is key to managing vegetation to better prevent wildfires on public lands.

Environmental advocates and other groups worry rescinding the rule would harm pristine habitat and the wildlife it supports, and open up more public land to industrial activities and human access that can cause more wildfires.

And locals are worried about losing access to some of the last protected natural lands in the region.

“What we're dealing with here in the roadless rule is the protection of the backcountry,” said David Browning, president of the Orange County Mountain Bike Association, “where you can actually go out and be having an experience where you don't hear traffic, where you don't see buildings, where you actually remember what it was like before all of us got here.”

In Southern California, large swaths of the Los Padres, Angeles, San Bernardino and Cleveland national forests would lose protections.

Browning, who spoke with All Things Considered host Julia Paskin on Monday, said he’s particularly concerned about the Santa Ana Mountains, where much of Orange County’s backcountry biking trails exist within a roadless area that could be opened to construction.

“Our mission is to protect and expand trail access, and so our entire agenda is to make sure that in a highly populated county, like Orange, that we have available the outdoors to be able to go and enjoy,” he said.

Browning takes issue with the wildfire argument — he pointed to the 2024 Airport Fire, which was sparked when heavy equipment operated by Orange County employees struck a rock. They were moving large boulders that day to, in part, block vehicles from getting into a dry brush area and potentially starting a fire. Browning said the “roadless rule” prevents such access that could increase the risk of fire. A recent peer-reviewed study supports that, finding that although roads are important for managing a fire once it ignites, they’re also more likely to be a place where a fire starts.

Though addressing wildfires and protecting public lands have become heavily politicized under the Trump administration, Browning thinks most locals probably aren’t as divided.

“ I don't think this is a party issue,” he said. “We want to hold onto the outdoors and protect them as best we can.”

There unfortunately isn’t much respite in sight for heat-weary Southern Californians.

Forecasters say this week’s heat wave is likely to be the hottest so far this summer. Extreme heat warnings will be in effect from the National Weather Service for almost the entire region from Tuesday morning through Friday evening.

Temperatures will peak between Tuesday and Thursday.

Highs in downtown Los Angeles are expected to reach around 100 degrees, and the warmest inland valleys will get up to 112. L.A. County beaches will hit the high 80s.

Forecasters have also issued Red Flag Warnings for the interior mountains and foothills of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Gusty winds and low humidity at higher elevations mean fires could spark and spread quickly.

At lower elevations, humidity continues to make the heat feel more sweltering and make it harder to cool down, especially at night. Nighttime temperatures will only get down to the 70s in most places, including along the coast.

A slight cooldown is expected this weekend, though forecasters say temperatures will stay above normal into next week.

The extreme heat this week poses an especially high risk of heat-related illness for people over 65, young children, people who work or spend a lot of time outside and those without access to air conditioning.

Driving the heat

Several factors are behind this week’s heat wave, many of which have also been behind the rest of this summer’s consistently hot weather.

The main driver is a high pressure air system hovering over the southwestern U.S., trapping warm air, compressing it and warming it further, and blocking cooler air from entering the region.

Offshore winds are also pushing warm inland air toward the coast, preventing cooler onshore winds from blowing inland.

“That blocks our natural air conditioning off the ocean from coming in as early as it normally does,” said Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford. “So as long as that cool air stays offshore, it heats up on land.”

The offshore winds are not strong enough, however, to significantly dry out the air in the L.A. Basin and cut down on the humidity.

“That's probably going to be around for the whole summer because you’ve got all this warm ocean water that's feeding into that,” Wofford said.

Warmer seawater evaporates faster, adding to moisture in the air and increasing humidity across the region, especially along the coasts.

Air quality warnings

Along with the heat this week, many Southern Californians also have smog to worry about.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued an ozone advisory on Monday for inland areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties, much of Riverside County and parts of San Bernardino County. It will remain in effect through Friday evening.

The multi-day smog event is in part driven by the heatwave.

Officials say ozone pollution may reach unhealthy levels or higher in the Santa Clarita Valley, parts of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino valleys, and portions of the San Bernardino Mountains.

Under unhealthy levels, it’s possible for anyone to experience adverse health effects like difficulty breathing and throat irritation. Sensitive populations could experience more serious effects.

Levels are expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups in the San Fernando Valley, Perris Valley, Mission Viejo, Lake Elsinore, Corona, Hemet, Riverside and Pasadena.

Officials advise certain vulnerable groups — including people with heart or lung disease, those with asthma, pregnant women, children and people over 65 — to limit their time outdoors.

Officials predict that ozone levels will be lower along the coast.