CA Crime & Drugs

In the second part of his interview, Steve Cooley, a former District Attorney, talks about important topics like crime, drug abuse, and policies. He believes that making drug possession a less serious crime, allows drug users to return to the streets prematurely to resume their drug consumption, and financially sustaining drug cartels. Cooley thinks the homeless problem in Los Angeles is caused in significant part by drug addiction and he says that jails, with appropriate treatment programs in place, could aid people to recover from their dependency on illicit drugs. He is unhappy with how mental health and addiction are being ignored. Cooley disagrees with a new rule about bail because he thinks it lets more criminals go free, risking public safety. He talks about how drug use is changing, focusing on fentanyl, and the danger from drug cartels in China and Mexico. Cooley also looks back at crime trends and criticizes the current laws and prosecutors for making public safety worse.