Steve Smith
Blog
Juvenile Justice in California – Nowhere to go
On January 4th 2023, Gavin Boston was shot and killed while working as a security guard at the Japan Center Mall in San Francisco’s Japan Town neighborhood. Shortly after, San Francisco police department arrested two juveniles aged 14 and 15 as the suspects. The 15 year-old was identified ...
Blog
Police Reform – San Jose Police – A Case Study
Last fall, the City of San Jose’s Independent Police Auditor (IPA) Shivaun Nurre issued her 2021 annual report on police oversight of the San Jose Police Department. It provides a detailed analysis of allegations of police misconduct in San Jose. Techies would call it “granular” data. On September 13, 2022, ...
Blog
California’s Soft on Crime Policies Claim Another Victim
McKay was a three striker with multiple convictions and two prison sentences for violent offenses dating back to 1999. His last ten-year stint ended in 2019. When he was stopped by deputy Cordero, he had already been convicted of his third strike. However, he was free on reduced bail pending ...
Blog
Gaslighting California’s Crime Victims
“Gaslighting” is Merriam Webster’s Word of the Year for 2022. It is defined by Webster’s as the: “Psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to ...
Blog
The Night Westwood Died and Crime in Cities
On January 31, 1988, 27 year-old Karen Toshima was enjoying an evening with her boyfriend in Westwood Village. She had just gotten a promotion at work and like thousands of other Angelenos did almost every weekend decided that Westwood was the place to be. After dinner, Karen and ...
Blog
The Campus Sexual Assault Epidemic – Our laws make it worse
The State of California has released its 2021 annual crime report and crime is up across the board. Of particular concern are the sexual assault statistics. According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, “the rape rate increased 8.6 percent in 2021 (from 33.8 in 2020 to 36.7 in ...
Blog
How a ‘perfect storm’ killed an LA philanthropist
How a ‘perfect storm’ killed an LA philanthropist BY STEVE SMITH The murder of philanthropist Jaqueline Avant, the wife of famed music producer (“The Godfather of Black Music”) Clarence Avant, sent shock waves throughout Los Angeles society. Her death, during a home-invasion robbery on Dec. 1, 2021, not only shattered ...
Blog
Crime in California and the Left/Right Divide
Writing for the LA Times recently, columnist Anita Chabria calls Kern, Merced, and Tulare counties “Trump’s California” and describes Kern as first amongst the “the locales where your chance of being murdered is greatest.” Merced and Tulare round out the top three. She then contrasts them and their conservative district ...
Blog
America’s Homeless Capital
According to USA by Numbers the center of homelessness in America isn’t New York, or Los Angeles, or even San Francisco. It is relatively small Santa Cruz, California.
Blog
Gascón Abandons Victims
Marsalee Ann Nichols, a UC Santa Barbara undergrad, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. One week after her murder, the suspect, Kerry Michael Conley made bail and confronted Marsy’s mother while she was shopping in a grocery store. Their encounter was not a coincidence but was planned by Conley. ...
Juvenile Justice in California – Nowhere to go
On January 4th 2023, Gavin Boston was shot and killed while working as a security guard at the Japan Center Mall in San Francisco’s Japan Town neighborhood. Shortly after, San Francisco police department arrested two juveniles aged 14 and 15 as the suspects. The 15 year-old was identified ...
Police Reform – San Jose Police – A Case Study
Last fall, the City of San Jose’s Independent Police Auditor (IPA) Shivaun Nurre issued her 2021 annual report on police oversight of the San Jose Police Department. It provides a detailed analysis of allegations of police misconduct in San Jose. Techies would call it “granular” data. On September 13, 2022, ...
California’s Soft on Crime Policies Claim Another Victim
McKay was a three striker with multiple convictions and two prison sentences for violent offenses dating back to 1999. His last ten-year stint ended in 2019. When he was stopped by deputy Cordero, he had already been convicted of his third strike. However, he was free on reduced bail pending ...
Gaslighting California’s Crime Victims
“Gaslighting” is Merriam Webster’s Word of the Year for 2022. It is defined by Webster’s as the: “Psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to ...
The Night Westwood Died and Crime in Cities
On January 31, 1988, 27 year-old Karen Toshima was enjoying an evening with her boyfriend in Westwood Village. She had just gotten a promotion at work and like thousands of other Angelenos did almost every weekend decided that Westwood was the place to be. After dinner, Karen and ...
The Campus Sexual Assault Epidemic – Our laws make it worse
The State of California has released its 2021 annual crime report and crime is up across the board. Of particular concern are the sexual assault statistics. According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, “the rape rate increased 8.6 percent in 2021 (from 33.8 in 2020 to 36.7 in ...
How a ‘perfect storm’ killed an LA philanthropist
How a ‘perfect storm’ killed an LA philanthropist BY STEVE SMITH The murder of philanthropist Jaqueline Avant, the wife of famed music producer (“The Godfather of Black Music”) Clarence Avant, sent shock waves throughout Los Angeles society. Her death, during a home-invasion robbery on Dec. 1, 2021, not only shattered ...
Crime in California and the Left/Right Divide
Writing for the LA Times recently, columnist Anita Chabria calls Kern, Merced, and Tulare counties “Trump’s California” and describes Kern as first amongst the “the locales where your chance of being murdered is greatest.” Merced and Tulare round out the top three. She then contrasts them and their conservative district ...
America’s Homeless Capital
According to USA by Numbers the center of homelessness in America isn’t New York, or Los Angeles, or even San Francisco. It is relatively small Santa Cruz, California.
Gascón Abandons Victims
Marsalee Ann Nichols, a UC Santa Barbara undergrad, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. One week after her murder, the suspect, Kerry Michael Conley made bail and confronted Marsy’s mother while she was shopping in a grocery store. Their encounter was not a coincidence but was planned by Conley. ...
