Steve Smith
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. ...
California
A Crime Like No Other
Elderly parole is intended to further reduce California’s prison population by releasing older inmates no longer deemed to be a threat to public safety. On the face of it, elderly parole seems reasonable. Many inmates do age out of their criminality and the idea that an elderly inmate using a ...
Blog
The War of Misinformation – Police Use of Force
The last several years have brought new focus on police tactics and use of force. The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, during an arrest by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, shocked the nation’s conscience and led to protests in 140 cities, with some turning violent. Despite ...
Blog
California’s Gun Legislation – The message to crime victims – go get a lawyer
In the wake of the tragic Uvalde and Buffalo shootings, California’s Governor and legislators got busy. Over a dozen gun related anti-crime bills are in circulation and a few have already been signed into law. The new laws are: AB 1621, which requires serial numbers on firearms components and defines ...
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. ...
A Crime Like No Other
Elderly parole is intended to further reduce California’s prison population by releasing older inmates no longer deemed to be a threat to public safety. On the face of it, elderly parole seems reasonable. Many inmates do age out of their criminality and the idea that an elderly inmate using a ...
The War of Misinformation – Police Use of Force
The last several years have brought new focus on police tactics and use of force. The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, during an arrest by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, shocked the nation’s conscience and led to protests in 140 cities, with some turning violent. Despite ...
California’s Gun Legislation – The message to crime victims – go get a lawyer
In the wake of the tragic Uvalde and Buffalo shootings, California’s Governor and legislators got busy. Over a dozen gun related anti-crime bills are in circulation and a few have already been signed into law. The new laws are: AB 1621, which requires serial numbers on firearms components and defines ...
