LOS ANGELES – Today, George Gascón released the following statement in response to remarks made by Craig Lally, the President of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, and District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s biggest supporter.
In an article appearing in the Guardian, Mr. Lally said of low-level non-violent defendants who had not been convicted of a crime that were being released under the state’s $0 bail order in response to Covid-19; “That’s the lifestyle that they chose probably since they were 16 years old. They’re never going to change and the only thing you can do is warehouse them.”
In response, Mr. Gascón said:
“The irony of his words can only be eclipsed by his shocking sense of entitlement. Mr. Lally received a multitude of chances after being exposed as one of the department’s infamous 44 problem officers, a dubious distinction reserved for officers with multiple allegations of excessive force. So by Mr. Lally’s own standards, he’ll never change and should be judged by his worst mistakes.
“Ironically, as Mr. Lally crows for accountability, he’s spending millions of dollars backing a District Attorney who has notoriously looked the other way when it comes to holding police accountable. Mr. Lally’s steadfast commitment to accountability appears to end abruptly when it involves him or other problem police officers.
“Beyond the absolute absurdity of these remarks, they are also backwards and wrong. Indeed, juveniles and young adults are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. The sheer volume of kids that LA cops and prosecutors put in cages in mind-boggling, and it has severely backfired.
“Significant evidence and research has concluded that juvenile incarceration results in large decreases in the likelihood of high school completion and large increases in the likelihood of adult incarceration. In fact, recidivism rates are often reported at 50 percent or higher for youth released from secure facilities, and as high as 70 percent for youth released from residential placement facilities within two years of their release. By contrast, studies have found that doing nothing with youth who commit delinquent acts resulted in better outcomes than placing youth in the juvenile justice system.
“Finally, young people’s brains continue to mature until their early- to mid-20s, and adolescents’ brains are different from adults’ both structurally and in how they are influenced by chemicals produced by the body, such as dopamine. This is one reason that people do change and recidivism rates begin to plummet at age 30, with huge reductions in rates of reoffense seen after ages 40 and 50, respectively.
People change, and with age comes wisdom. Mr. Lally would be wise to reflect on his comments, apologize, and rethink the double-standard that define his actions and his words.”
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George Gascón grew up in Los Angeles after his family immigrated from Cuba. An army veteran, Gascón served as a Los Angeles Police Department Officer for 30 years, rising to the rank of Assistant Chief of Operations. In 2006 he became Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona, where he stood up to the hateful and anti-immigrant policies of then Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In 2009, then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Gascón Chief of Police. Newsom turned to Gascón again in 2011 when he tapped him to be District Attorney to fill the seat vacated by an outgoing Kamala Harris who had been elected Attorney General. During his tenure Gascón implemented reforms that are being duplicated across the country while overseeing violent crime and homicides drop to rates not seen in 50 years. After being elected to two terms, Gascón returned to Los Angeles to care for his elderly mother and to be closer to his two daughters and grandchildren in Long Beach. Gascón is married to Fabiola Kramsky, a three-time Emmy Award winning journalist and recipient of the “Premio Nacional de Periodismo,” the highest recognition given to journalists in Mexico.