Our View: Modesto crime is down, but for how long?

It’s a good thing that crime rates are dropping in Modesto.

Using sophisticated “predictive policing” software that pinpoints the most likely locations for criminal activity and by building better connections with the community, Modesto Police Chief Galen Carroll announced some almost startlingly good news this week. Auto theft is down 12 percent, robberies down 11 percent, burglaries down an incredible 20 percent. High-fives to the officers responsible for driving down those numbers. A tip of the hat to the city of Modesto for giving police better tools with which to protect us and the city.

Celebrate those improvements quickly. Because after passage of Proposition 47, we’re afraid it might not last. Three days prior to Chief Carroll’s good news, we got some bad news from Sheriff Adam Christianson. Under the provisions of Proposition 47, he released more than 60 prisoners from the county jail. They had been convicted of fraud, shoplifting, forgery and possession of small amounts of narcotics, among other charges.

There were similar stories around the state – 60 released in Fresno County; two dozen in Sacramento County, dozens more in L.A. Call all these releases “meantime catastrophes.”

Eventually, the state could realize savings from having fewer people in our crowded prisons. In time, those savings could be applied to programs to fight drug abuse, homelessness, educational failure and provide alternatives to gangs. In the meantime, though, all we have are criminals being turned out with no prospects, no support and no better alternatives than to keep doing what put them there in the first place – and no way of monitoring them to make sure don’t.

Perhaps our “three-strikes” law went too far; perhaps our prisons are inhumane; undoubtedly we can do better. And in the long run, Proposition 47 might work out for the best. But for now, roughly 1,000 convicted criminals statewide are out of jail looking for something to do. We hope it will be constructive.

Hip, hip, hooray, hooray

Leafing through The Bee this week, we found lots of people deserving of congratulations. We wanted to mention a few:

▪ Ben Forman, co-founder of Intuitive Motion, won Best of Show in the Central Valley Venture Forum in Clovis last week for the company’s motorized ZBoard. No more pushing off.

▪ MJC student speakers James Baugh and Jon Sahlman won first and second place in the open persuasive speaking contest at University of the Pacific’s Paul Winters Invitational.

▪ And congratulations to all those who attended parades, conducted ceremonies and put on programs to make our veterans feel special on Veterans Day. It has been recommended for years that we say “thank you” to those who served. We’re going to suggest another way of showing appreciation. Vote. Since the inception of this nation, our military has protected our right to vote, to have a say in who leads us and in the directions they take. That so few people voted on Nov. 4 is simply saying, “We don’t care.”

Babysitters don’t get paid enough

Finally, we know very little about Karrina Aguilar-Cardona. But we know this: She’s selfless and brave and even heroic. The last thing 17-year-old Karrina recalls before being struck was pushing three small children clear of an oncoming car. Compare that with the driver, who kept on going after striking the young woman. We wish Aguilar-Cardona, a senior at Turlock High, a speedy recovery.

This story was originally published November 14, 2014 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Our View: Modesto crime is down, but for how long?."