Public Safety and Crime: How To Vote In The March 5 Primary If It’s Your Top Issue

Choosing a candidate starts with knowing what your personal preferences are

Candidates in Southern California are highly likely to say they want safer communities and a fair, effective criminal justice system. But they differ on how to get there. Here are some things to think about as you’re figuring out how to vote:

• Start with the facts on what is actually happening with crime. 
  • L.A. Police Department statistics show that violent crime has gone down over the past two years, but property crimes are up. There’s a lot of debate among candidates — and Angelenos — about why this is the case. One basic starting place as you make your choice is to determine which candidates’ platforms reflect that reality. 
• Consider what candidates see as the causes of those crime rates.
  • There’s endless debate about why violent crimes are down and property crimes are up, but there are many complex factors involved — the economy, unemployment, policing and more — aside from who’s in office. What a candidate thinks is the primary driver of crime will influence what kinds of policies they push for addressing it.
• What do the candidates say about how large law enforcement departments should be?
  • Should the size of our police force — whether that’s the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, LAPD or any other city police force — be bigger or smaller than it currently is? Should any of their responsibilities, especially those dealing with people with mental illness, should be shifted to unarmed forces like social workers?
• How much should we…