By Matthew Torres
LOS ANGELES, CA – During his recent town hall on violent crime, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón acknowledged the alarming increase in homicides nationally and adds that this increase is not exclusive to progressive jurisdictions but is also evident in conservative ones.
He added that, in order to have safer communities, people must be held accountable, but that is not all. 
“The problems we have today are the result of many of the bad policies that over-criminalize communities without really looking for a path forward to create the reduction of crime, the prevention of crime,” said DA Gascón.
Smart Justice California, a group of funders and donors working to promote “common sense” criminal justice reform, commented on the quote from DA Gascón, stating “bottomline: mass incarceration doesn’t reduce or prevent crime…smart justice reforms do. Reforms make us safer by promoting accountability and a more fair and effective system of justice.”
