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San Antonio Justice Policy (Dark Days)

A union activist once told me, “sometimes you have to let things blow up, so the people realize how bad it can get, then you can rebuild in the ashes,” and that implosion is about to happen. A small liberal group supported by outside organizations are collecting signatures for a charter amendment to be placed on the May 2023 city ballot. With little to no understanding of the legal system and public safety, this group of individuals are putting forth a measure titled, The Justice Policy. Using media created catch phrases, and limited often false information, ACT4SA are collecting signatures to place the Justice Policy on the May 2023 ballot. Should the Justice Policy pass, the fuse will be lit for an implosion with such destructive effects, it will take years for our community to rebuild in the ashes.

On the surface and as presented by ACT4SA, the bullet points proposed sound reasonable. The elimination of No-knock warrants, the criminalization of choke holds by police, no prosecution for minor marijuana possession, and a cite and release policy of individuals for minor non-violent crimes, this is a marketing ploy. The full measure of the Justice Policy is contained in a 13-page legal document written by attorneys, far beyond the capabilities of ACT4SA leadership. Supported by the Austin based Democratic non-profit group, Ground Game of Texas, founded by two radical attorneys, the Justice Policy is another attempt by this Austin based group to change city charters across Texas. Beginning in 2022, Ground Game of Texas has launched and supported similar campaigns in cities such as Austin, El Paso, San Marcus, Killeen, to name a few, all funded by ActBlue, the Democratic national non-profit fundraiser. This is not a San Antonio grass roots endeavor; this is a statewide/national Democratic effort to undermine public safety and dismantle our states judicial system.

Beyond the fact that many of the proposed amendments are currently established city and public safety policies and have been for decades, the Justice Policy creates new policies which will undermine public safety and create a devastating financial backlash similar to the COVID-19 shutdown of 2021. The most prominent example of such is section 180 of the Justice Policy, Cite and Release. Written by attorneys, the section begins with: “(a) Except as provided under Section 180(b), a citation, ticket or verbal warning, rather than arrest, shall be issued for individuals charged with committing the following offenses, in accordance with Article 14.06 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure,” those crimes being all Class C misdemeanors, Any misdemeanor charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance (marijuana) less than 4 oz, Possession of synthetic cannabinoids, all misdemeanor charges of Driving while License is Suspended, all charges of Theft under $750 dollars, all charges of Theft of Service under $750 dollars, all charges of Criminal Mischief under $750 dollars, or all charges of Destruction of Private Property (Graffiti) under $2,500 dollars. For decades San Antonio has had a policy of cite and release for Class C misdemeanors, these are crimes punishable by fine only, the same as traffic tickets. Under the Justice Policy this would be extended to most property crimes. Would you feel that safe in your neighborhood if you caught a person stealing your Christmas decorations, and when the police arrived, they wrote the criminal a ticket or simply gave them a verbal warning to not steal again, this will be the response by law enforcement. No longer would a police officer be allowed to arrest and take a criminal to jail for stealing your lawn mower, or painting gang signs on your fence. No longer would law enforcement be permitted to arrest shoplifters, or someone refusing to pay their bill. The laws of San Antonio would only allow the officer to issue a ticket or a verbal warning. Does this make you feel safe in your community?

Major retailers (Walmart Target) have already announced that due to theft (shoplifting) consumer prices will increase and some locations will be closed to deal with the massive losses. Restaurants, particularly small locally owned ones, will have to increase prices to offset their losses from theft of services or close their doors. Businesses and property owners will suffer massive repair cost to eliminate graffiti, insurance rates will increase because individuals with suspended license will be driving on our streets, jobs will be lost, the citizens of San Antonio will suffer so that criminals do not go to jail. How long do you think it will take under this policy before San Antonio begins looking like Detroit, Chicago, Los Angles, Portland, or Seattle?

Even the prosecution of those issued tickets would become problematic, resulting in the dismissal of charges. Bexar County Judicial System has no procedures in place to prosecute individuals released on a citation and doubtful our current District Attorney will implement specialized policies. To further compound the difficulty in prosecuting criminals released on a citation, the attorneys who wrote the Justice Policy have written in additional defenses against prosecution. Under the current system of cite and release, a criminal cannot be released unless they have positive proof of their identification, a government issued photograph identification, i.e., a driver’s license, identification card or passport, the Justice Policy changes the requirements of identification. A criminal only need present any identification which provides a name and address, such as a library card, utility or rent bill, a community organization membership card, student ID, church ID, or simply have a statement from a family member, friend who confirms the person’s identity. You cannot prosecute an individual for a crime unless you can first positively identify that person, a library card, a utility or rent bill, or any such form of identification is not positive proof sufficient to prosecute in court.

This is only a single section of the proposed Justice Policy, and the destructive effects of such a policy are obvious. There are an additional 14 sections within the 13-page document which are equally problematic. It is time to stop this proposed amendment before our city is blown apart and we have to rebuild in the ashes of the destruction.