Boom 💥@LoveCodeTrade
Scott Wiener spent a decade dismantling California's crime enforcement, one bill at a time. SB 357 killed loitering enforcement. Prop 47 killed felony theft. SB 145 softened registry rules for sex crimes against minors.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱
Wiener's fingerprints are on every major bill that neutered California's ability to police street-level crime:
- 𝗦𝗕 𝟯𝟱𝟳 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮): Repealed the anti-loitering-for-prostitution statute. Within months of taking effect, open-air sex markets exploded on Figueroa in LA, International Blvd in Oakland, and Capp Street in SF. Residents filmed it. Cops couldn't act.
- 𝗦𝗕 𝟮𝟯𝟯 (𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵): Granted immunity for sex workers reporting crimes, which in practice shields pimps and traffickers operating alongside them.
- 𝗦𝗕 𝟭𝟰𝟱 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬): Softened sex offender registry requirements for certain offenses involving minors, so long as the age gap stayed under ten years.
- 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝟰𝟳 (𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟰): Wiener's loud cheerleading helped pass the measure that reclassified sub-$950 theft and hard drug possession as misdemeanors. Walgreens closures and lock-box Target aisles followed.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻
Every bill shares the same move: remove a tool cops and DAs used, then call the tool itself the problem. Loitering laws became the villain, not the pimps. Felony theft thresholds became the villain, not the fences running organized theft rings. Registry rules became the villain, not the predators.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀
"𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲." Aggregated numbers hide the shift. Since FY2014, California's property crime rate has stayed stubbornly above the national average, retail theft surged enough to force statewide emergency funding in FY2024, and fentanyl-driven overdose deaths exploded under the reduced-possession regime. "Down from pandemic peaks" is not the same as "down."
"𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻." Fine. Then explain why the open-air prostitution corridors appeared on the exact calendar quarter SB 357 took effect. Explain why organized retail theft surged after Prop 47 raised the felony line to $950. The timelines are not subtle.
"𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘃𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲." Tell that to the Oakland residents whose children walk past pimps on the way to school. Tell it to the small business owners who closed shop because the sixth break-in wasn't a felony. Tell it to the families on Capp Street. "Vulnerable" somehow never includes them.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁
Wiener's theory of crime is that enforcement is the real violence. So he kept removing the enforcement. Then acted surprised when the predictable happened.
His district keeps reelecting him. The rest of California lives with the bill.
What's your take on Wiener's legislative record? Drop it below.