About a week into the most devastating fires in Los Angeles County history, newly installed District Attorney Nathan Hochman publicly criticized people for exploiting the fires for personal gain, while himself exploiting the fires for political gain.
The DA organized a press conference laden with tough-on-crime rhetoric. In his remarks, Hochman promised to prosecute anyone found looting to the “fullest extent of the law” and prescribed the most brutal punishments for theft of any developed country. And worse, he shared a litany of filed charges and revealed the names of accused young people who have not yet been convicted.
The next day, Hochman joined his counterpart in Orange County, DA Todd Spitzer, and released a statement urging Governor Gavin Newsom and the state legislature to introduce a bill enacting even harsher punishments for looting. (Already, prosecutors across California rely heavily on enhancements.)
For example, a 22-year-old, whom Hochman named during the press conference, would receive a sentence of up to 22 years if convicted as charged, and another 23-year-old could face a lifetime in prison – both over a horrible decision to steal from an abandoned house.
Aside from increasing penalties, Hochman and Spitzer’s proposed would make people who loot ineligible for diversion. Diversion is a proven practice of accountability that offers people accused of crimes the services and support they need to turn their lives around. We have seen the success of diversion programs in recent years; rates of recidivism statewide are nearly three times lower for people who go through diversion than those who go to prison.
DA Hochman should use his new platform to focus on what the majority of the most disadvantaged and displaced Angelenos currently face: first, combatting the rampant rental price gouging already impacting those who have lost an unbearable amount; second, he could highlight the urgent need to increase permanent housing solutions given how Angelenos are all one spark and strong wind away from becoming unhoused; and lastly, he could prioritize getting people the help they need and providing them with services and resources that address the issues that induce people to steal. Instead, Hochman offers antiquated solutions —ruthless punishment as a solution to the fear he has stoked that got him elected—rather than smart solutions to public safety that are proven to work.
This comes as no surprise. On the campaign trail, we saw DA Hochman peddle misinformation and outdated tough-on-crime policies, including a reversion to cash bail, a return to the death penalty, charging more youths in adult courts, increasing punishment, and bringing DAs into parole hearings to fight the release of those who parole boards and custody staff deem suitable.
Just two months into his term, Hochman is already dragging L.A. backwards to outdated policies with zero evidence of decreasing crime. During his campaign he repeated that he was a middle-of-the-road option, but there’s nothing middle-of-the-road about using a crisis to justify ignoring the truth that diversion from incarceration and increasing community-based services best help people get their lives on track.
L.A. residents deserve better.