POLITICS: Woke ‘criminal justice reform’ fails

Here’s a rallying cry for you: “Re-fund the police.”

And while you’re at it, rethink soft-on-crime policies in California and its blue cities and counties.

Far too often, liberal havens such as Los Angeles and the state itself have cut police funding and prioritized second chances over incarceration. 

One upshot: the emergence of “super gangs” that terrorize communities.

LAPD has told The California Post that a powerhouse gang poses a growing threat in Los Angeles and beyond.

The alliance, composed of former blood rivals MS-13 and 18th Street, runs a crime syndicate under a gang truce decreed by the Mexican Mafia.

The giant gang has tentacles stretching from Bakersfield to the Southern border, police said, with criminal grips on drugs, extortion, human trafficking and underground gambling.

More than 100,000 gang members lurk in Los Angeles alone, officers added.

Kudos to police for shining a light on dynamics which, left to fester, will only get worse.

Solutions start with awareness — and sensible crime policy.

Cities such as Los Angeles should reprioritize police funding. City Hall has slashed LAPD’s robbery, homicide and narcotics divisions — including the latter by more than half, said Capt. Ahmad Zarekani, head of the Gang and Narcotics Division.

Lenient “progressive prosecutors,” for years en vogue on the left, need permanent retirement.  Communities are far safer with district attorneys who mete out consequences rather than 37th chances.

Statewide laws and initiatives also need (in some cases, further) reform. Examples include Prop. 47, which reduced penalties for many crimes, and AB 109, which shifted some state prisoners to already-crowded local jails, prompting early releases. 

The super gang exploits this weak-on-crime leniency.

Criminals know they have license to run riot.

“We’ve had guys in interview rooms tell us, ‘I’m not going to do any time, I’ll be out in a couple days,’” Hugo Ayon, a detective with the LAPD Gangs and Narcotics Division said.

It’s beyond time to shun so-called criminal justice reform: defunding police, reducing incarceration, and easing penalties for crime.

With a super gang on the rise, local and state governments should ensure protection for the public, rather than leniency for perpetrators.