**** About | John Creuzot
**** Texas Civil Rights Project | Ending Mass Incarceration
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Dallas DA reveals plan for ending mass incarceration for petty crimes, slashing probation and bail ... Thanx to The Dallas Morning News
First up ... Congratulations to District Attorney John Creuzot on his new position as Dallas County DA ... a little briefing from John above for an opening video. This posting will be for 4 series of this journal/ blog ... "Incarcerated American", Poverty & Despair", "Aggressive Progressive", and "Public Patriots". On January 01, 2019 at 12:01am, John became DA of Dallas County, at 11am that same day, John sworn in 272 Dallas County Prosecutors, and fired at least a dozen others. In the 3 months as DA, John already dismissed over 1000 cases, releasing them from custody and prosecution at the stroke of his pen after personally reviewing each individual case ... and many more on the way. The changes are much broader than the recent reforms to Harris County (Houston) as far as reform of mass incarceration, and on a national level, broader than those in the tops coming in Austin, TX and Washington, DC. John has had this vision and work he's done for years actually, and is known on a national level for his ideas and implementation of alternative sentencing and programmes for low risk offenders while on the bench as judge in Dallas. He served for years in Dallas as a criminal defense lawyer, felony district court judge, Asst DA of Dallas County, and Chief Felony Prosecutor. There has been much opposition to some of this, even from Governor Greg Abbott ... but mainly from police and from some small business owners, but not on the marijuana/ drug reform, but the theft part ... so in fairness, I added some video below from law enforcement associations too. Some say that John should sit down with leaders and law enforcement to talk this over ... but, John has tried, and been pushing reform for years, they have declined to sit with John or propose any solutions as of yet ... so let's be straight about who is willing to sit down with who, eh? John is a workaholic, he knows the game well, and is not one that fiddle faddles and procrastinates for years, or cares to be complicit on this ... if you refuse to sit down or try to make past due reforms, while these same people constantly talk reform, especially in campaign talk ... John will take action, being in a position now to where he can. I mean, John's doing something ... what in Hell are y'all doing?, except feeding us the same old outdated garbage over and over ... year after year. Some read below with a PDF from the new DA, and some video ... at the bottom, I will add some of my views in this.
***** NBC 5 DALLAS- FORT WORTH: Dallas County District Attorney's Office to Dismiss Many Misdemeanor, State Jail Felony Cases ... (newsread/ video)
The National Black Police Association and Dallas Police Association respond to Dallas DA ... Thanx to The Dallas Morning News
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***** PD/ RCJ: "INCARCERATED AMERICAN" ... PART'S 34 THRU 1
***** PD/ RCJ: "POVERTY & DESPAIR" ... PART'S 9 THRU 1
***** PD/ RCJ: "AGGRESSIVE PROGRESSIVE" ... PART'S 3, 2, & 1
***** PD/ RCJ: "PUBLIC PATRIOTS" ... PART'S 62 THRU 1
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Thomas Hudson Pickering/ Ranch Chimp
Of course there are some problems in the theft part of this reform, as officers point out above. The difference here though, is with this new line up and programme for prosecutors, each case will be looked at individually, not a one size fits all. Yes, a "booster" is those who do higher scale shoplifting rather than a few low budget items, they are unlikely to hit small places, unless it's some jewelry place or really valued items, plus those small places don't have enough customer traffic to leave the booster go unnoticed, or wayz to get the goods out. You have those who know how to work it, they know to stay at $700 "misdemeanor charge" limit per score at their choice of retailer, to not exceed the $750 cap, and if they're smart have a lawyer retained to make bond right after arraignment with one phone call if arrested, charged, and detained. They typically are well calculated types that case the store first, familiar with all security, they move fast and on a clock, and very organized. If a good score, they may hit the place several times within 2 weeks ... after that, will avoid going back, because of the amount of loss is noticed as substantial, and the store will beef up and change security. They usually hit your large retailers, and in the better neighbourhoods, they dress better and play the unnoticed customer part well, know where all surveillance cameras are, etc. They go after pricey items and less bulk ... they will work a 6 hour or so day maybe, and hit multiple places that they already hand picked, and usually score about maybe $3000/ $4000+ combined total or so of retail price in that day, they either have a fence to get rid of it online or elsewhere, or in other small retailers who buy the goods, or they get more if they turn it themselves. You're looking at getting about 25 to 50 points on the dollar depending on how you get rid of it, so for $4000K worth of goods as example, you can get say $1000 to maybe $1500+ cash or more for that day's lot/ score. In a big metro like Dallas- Fort Worth, you have several counties and cities to work in that day, to baffle law agencies on connecting the dots. Some will pay others to return the goods for a small fee to the store or another chain location they boosted it from, same day or next, before it's recorded as inventory loss, and the store then gives those refunders gift cards (since they have no receipt) for full amount, those cards are then sold usually for 50 pts on a buck average ... each individual that is good has their own method to get rid of items. Some prefer to leave least paper/ traceable trail when they do with least hand changing interaction, some get personal checks or cash from a fence, cash those at indie check cashing joints for a 1% fee, take that cash and put it on prepaid debit cards, or use it as cash. Most boosters work large retailers, some even have lists of what they get that are special request orders by fences ... retailers may cover losses from theft by tax deductions, insurance, and raising prices in the store.
Small retailers are at a disadvantage as far as covering losses, and many of them don't carry in mass what professional boosters target, so, they get hit by more low level shoplifters, that are just selling on the corner to individuals for quick cash, dope or dope money ... or as John points out, they are not greedy, but just needy for basic essential items that's needed to live/ eat, or keep up basic hygiene. Small businesses feel the pinch on those small scores, much more than a huge retailer store taking a $700 loss. So that is what needs to be ironed out, and this DA knows this well, it's not like he will allow folks to boost everything they can with no penalties. Also as the officer above points out, it hurts folks in those lower income communities that have to depend on small stores to shop, places like South Central Dallas, Oak Cliff, Pleasant Grove, West Dallas, etc, do not have many big stores if any, many folks don't have vehicles, ride the buses/ trains and on foot, they depend on the small stores, and that is all they have otherwise, and many of those communities are like food deserts too. I mean like, poorer areas have lack of investors wanting to open business, not unless gentrification moves in, and that displaces all who are native to the area when that happens, it just moves the poor, but doesn't solve the problem ... or do large retailers want to set up shop/ store in some of them areas, because of poverty, despair, and crime stats. Also as the officer points out ... it is indeed a charge escalation on the shoplifter, if there is any physical altercation during a small shoplifting incident, if the clerk/ owner decides to try to stop the person stealing, if that shoplifter resists at all or attempts to fight, it automatically falls into the robbery category, and goes to felony status immediately ... if the shoplifter even pulls a knife out of their pocket just for show of defense or threat, it becomes aggravated felony because of brandishing a weapon, so it's a little deeper than it may look on surface, and some shoplifters can get shot and killed legally by Texas law then. If the small store clerk/ owner decides to let the shoplifter leave out with the goods, and call DPD with a description of shoplifter, the cops may not show up for an hour or more, nothing nonviolent gets priority call, there are too many serious crimes going on, that may involve a shooting, hold- up or whatever. Also DPD is short hundreds of officers since hundreds left the department, because an investment firm that handled and managed their retirement, lost a bunch of their money in bad investments, draining cops and firefighters retirement accounts (WFAA/ ABC) ... an old familiar tune in America, eh? Many officers went to work for other metroplex cities/ suburbs, that are less dangerous and demanding, pay better and good benefits.
As far as other charges that will be dismissed or declined for prosecution, so many are way past due, especially on the marijuana laws, and most DPD won't even waste their time with low level pot cases to begin with. With all the marijuana business and use in Texas, this place should have decriminalized it long ago, Texas is and has been one of the most saturated states of pot for decades. The law concerning lab results to charge, or when they issue citations or even arrest a person for residue build up in straights (crack pipes) or bolos (meth pipes) is also ridiculous, you are wasting jail space for inmates that pose no threat to our communities, the downtown Dallas County Jail is alwayz maxed at over 7,100 inmates. The same as busting someone for a $10 rock (crack rock), this just wastes tax money big time, and officers time on answering critical calls, and solves not a bloody damn thing. The only ones who want these busts and citations are bail bond joints, local companies getting free labour off low nonviolent offenders incarcerated, bundle case low level attorneys, that bundle a half dozen or more cases in a hearing for plea bargain deal (no work, quick money), private detention/ prison investors, contractors selling overpriced phone service to inmates and their families, or contractors selling overpriced commissaries/ products to inmates, etc ... it's all a big money making scam, and they all want and lobby for recidivism regardless of their public relations or political campaign talk, not to rehabilitate, so to keep milking taxes, families/ inmates, and agencies. These people do not care about our communities and families, or do anything that really helps in any way. The homeless problem is even worse than they say in figures, but it is a somewhat ball park figure for the mainstream. There are thousands upon thousands today that are NOT even counted in the homeless population census/ surveys. These are people that live in squats, abandoned commercial or residential places, some in places where the owner/ renter in compassion will let them set up tents stay in basements, attics, garages, empty former warehouse areas, or other places in your poorer areas. Some of these also serve as shooting galleries for drug addicts to run dope (IV/ needle), or smoke dope like meth, heroin, crack, because they have nowhere else to go and safely do it. It would cost less for taxpayers in Texas and the country, and improve the sanitation, appearance, and safety in cities, if you just had designated safe stay areas for drug addicts and homeless, that caters strictly to that segment of population. And since the homeless govern their own communities already in underground America and keep community order by kicking out those who cause trouble or harm. They do this in the most awful conditions as is, they would add their own security and rules for those residing in the areas, and needed work for improvement as they already do ... yes, they even like to keep their communities safe and somewhat organized too.
Even your most so called liberal cities in America, have not attempted to even take on this issue in a realistic way ... instead, just asking donations from the private sector to help, and most of that goes to overhead costs, and tax havens cloaked in the term "philanthropic foundation". I mean, can we not do something for ourselves for a change with our own tax revenues, without some corporation, bank, multi millionaire/ billionaire, or foreign country lobby telling us what we can or cannot do? Or they kick the homeless out of one area, and the homeless just go find another area, it becomes an endless cycle. Some cities even give them free one way bus tickets to any other city they want, just to send the problem to another city. They have these people lining the streets in tents and under freewayz or wherever, close to places like business/ financial, shopping, and premium/ luxury rent districts, when they could build areas and shelter for them. It saves tax money, it improves the social climate, appearance, and entertainment and shopping atmosphere in big cities. The criminalization alone in this country of poverty, while expanding it through neoliberal policies, does nothing but promote more of the same and worsen the conditions. And not just for the homeless and poor people in these dire conditions, but even all the middle and upper income people/ consumers, property and business owners, who spend most in taxes and personal spending that keep a large portion of our economies flourishing ... if anything, at least do it for them. The money spent to fix this is actually savings from what it's costing us across the board now ... not acting or helping is not being frugal or fiscally wise, it's being just cheap, stupid, and promoting a culture/ fad of extreme greed. The answers to so many problems in a country of so much wealth are all right in front of us, been for years, and most ordinary people see it and want things done better. When you give these folks in poverty and dire despair an area of their own with modest amenities, it also restores a certain amount of dignity, hope, and motivates those to contribute a little something to the overall good of society and to have respect for what they were given ... ignoring them and persecuting them only breeds more of the same. Whether it is the homeless problem, drug addiction problem, human trafficking/ sex trade problems or other issues, all can be solved very easily, and no one has to sacrifice everything or most tax revenues, nor go into poverty to fix it ... it would also be economically smart, just as food stamps are, because they generate business in our communities, our taxes just don't end up in some foreign offshore tax haven accounts, as they do with many of the wealthy and corporations that we subsidize with almost unlimited welfare, even after they are at historic all time record levels of profit and wealth.
Word Out ....
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Dallas County District Attorney Creuzot swears in 272 prosecutors with new reform programme, January 01, 2019
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***** RANCH CHIMP JOURNAL "WELCOME" POST
***** RCJ MUSIC/ ART'S HONOUR ROLL SOCIETY (my hand- selected music/ arts picks)
***** "THE RESISTANCE | PERILS OF THE POWER POSSE" ... ( a 2 part futuristic Ranch Chimp Journal dream to dream on )
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