LA County DA George Gascón In The Hot Seat At Candidates Debate

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.