In the last six months, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has sent state police to Oakland to crack down on thefts, announced efforts to charge drug dealers with murder and sent attorneys from the California National Guard and the California Department of Justice to help Alameda County prosecute more people. His focus on prosecution and policing marks a departure from his past embrace of criminal justice reform efforts that focused more on rehabilitation than locking people in jail. It has increased speculation that he's preparing for a future presidential run, but Newsom is just one of many Democratic leaders shifting to the right on criminal justice policies amid rising concerns about crime and safety, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Before he became governor, Newsom forged much of his reputation through advocacy on criminal justice-related ballot measures. He backed Proposition 47, a 2014 law approved by voters that reduced punishments for drug possession and theft of property worth under $950. In 2016, he spearheaded the successful campaign to legalize recreational cannabis and supported a failed effort to end the death penalty. Though Californians affirmed their support for capital punishment that election, when Newsom became governor in 2019, he placed a moratorium on executions. In the last year, he's embraced a tougher approach to crime. This month, he touted his efforts to recruit and train more state police officers, and promoted a string of arrests in Oakland by more than 100 state police officers he sent to crack down on crime. Last year, he deployed state police to San Francisco to crack down on fentanyl dealing and ordered the California National Guard to help target drug traffickers in the city. Newsom's shift to a more tough-on-crime approach reflects constituents' views. In February, 11 percent of Californians identified crime, gangs and drugs as the top issues facing the state, an increase from 3 percent five years before, says the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.