Over a dozen suspects tied to the spate of nearly a dozen smash-and-grab robberies in Los Angeles were busted but then quickly released \u2026<\/b>
\nOver a dozen suspects tied to the spate of nearly a dozen smash-and-grab robberies in Los Angeles were busted but then quickly released due to zero-bail policies, which has left the LAPD\u2019s top cop frustrated. The 14 arrests followed a \u201crash\u201d of 11 \u201cflash-mob type\u201d raids in which nearly $350,000 in goods was swiped in just 10 days in the City of Angels last month, with the last on Nov.28, LAPD chief Michel Moore said Thursday. \u201cAll of the suspects taken into custody are out of custody,\u201d Moore complained, blaming \u201czero-bail criteria\u201d for the release of all but one, who was a juvenile. \u201cThere\u2019s criminal elements that are recognizing that condition and are capitalizing on it,\u201d he warned of crooks emboldened by the soft-touch approach. \u201cWe are concerned,\u201d the police chief admitted. \u201cYou can be arrested for crimes such as burglary \u2014 a serious felony, a person coming into your home or business\u2026 and that\u2019s a zero bail. \u201cMeaning that we book and process, identify you, and then your arraignment date is three to four months from now,\u201d he said. \u201cRemember, the vast majority of crime is committed by relatively few people. And when the few people are constantly gaming the system to understand its weaknesses\u201d they can easily \u201cprey upon society,\u201d he said. The 11 raids caused at least $40,000 in property damage, Moore said, insisting that the impact on the community now terrified of violent raids \u201ccannot be overstated.\u201d California\u2019s statewide policy of imposing no bail for misdemeanors and lower-level felonies was introduced last year to help reduce the jail population at the height of the pandemic. Although it was due to end late last year, it has been kept in place within the LA County Superior Court system. Mayor Eric Garcetti backed the police chief\u2019s complaint, insisting, \u201cThere are people who need to be behind bars.\u201d \u201cHow many times does the same person have to steal a car \u2014 three, four, five times \u2014 after being released before we realize\u201d that they should have been held, he asked. However, he insisted it was only \u201cpartly\u201d due to progressive District Attorney George Gasc\u00f3n, who supports ending bail across the board for misdemeanor, non-violent and non-serious felony offenses. \u201cMuch of it is coming from the judicial system itself, not the prosecutors,\u201d he insisted. \u201cWe need the help of our criminal justice system, of our judges, of our jailers,\u201d Garcetti said. \u201cWe have opened up a lot of the city because we\u2019re in a better place with COVID. We should be able to also open up our jails, and we should be able to have judges that put people behind those bars.\u201d Despite the stinging criticisms of the policies he ran on, Gasc\u00f3n\u2019s office still reckoned the smash-and-grab robbers would be held accountable. \u201cThese brazen acts hurt all of us: retailers, employees and customers alike,\u201d said Gasc\u00f3n\u2019s special advisor, Alex Bastian. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has boasted of his criminal justice reform efforts, promised on Wednesday that the proposed budget he sends to state lawmakers next month will \u201csignificantly increase our efforts to go after these retail rings.\u201d<\/p>\n