Oxnard—The Prop 36 story continues with Chief Jason Benites saying that overdose responses by Public Safety and overdose deaths have steadily increased since 2014 when Prop 47 passed.
PROPOSITION 47 made California’s Criminal Justice System more equitable but created unintended consequences over the past decade: repeat and often organized retail theft, inner City store closings, and difficulty convincing people to seek drug and mental health treatment.
The City Council took no action on Proposition 36, which supports homelessness, drug addiction, and the Theft Reduction Act.
“I’ve spoken to the Council each year and have given an update about the situation we’re facing with overdoses, and there’s a dramatic increase along with a dramatic increase of Narcan applications by Police personnel,”
Benites said. “In 2014, 30 people died of overdoses in our City. Last year, that number went up to 77. This is 3.3 times more than the combined number of homicide victims and traffic fatalities in our City.”
He said 234 people died in 2023 Countywide due to accidental overdoses, with 206 dying from opioids and 178 dying from fentanyl.
“It only causes us in the Public Safety realm to wonder if people like “Gilbert” would be alive had…
