In 2016, the Lompoc City Council approved the unlimited manufacturing; sale; and, with few restrictions, the use of cannabis in the city. At the time, the police chief testified that he anticipated an increase in crime if this new policy was enacted; a City Council majority ignored his warnings.
But by ignoring the warning of the police chief when they approved the sale and manufacture/processing of cannabis without any limits, they may have contributed to an uptick in crime even though the 2020 census counts only showed a marginal increase.
Since the approval of the sale and manufacturing of cannabis, the predictions of the police chief seem to have come true. In 2018 I wrote in the Sun that the city of Lompoc was in decline. For one measure of how far our city has slipped, we need only to look at crime statistics.
Even though our police officers and their leadership work hard to investigate crimes and arrest suspects, they can’t overcome political changes that make their job more difficult.
And you cannot overlook the fact that decades of neglect by past City Councils allowed Lompoc Police Department staffing and deployment to stay the same even as the population grew for nearly three decades. Other neighboring jurisdictions’ increased staffing as their populations grew.
Crime prevention is as much a part of physical security as it is of creating laws that allow officers to interdict potential criminals before a crime occurs. Even though local politicians are not responsible for changes in California law, the state Legislature and governor are.
I have written often of a phenomenon known as the “broken windows theory” in policing, which evolved from a theory proposed by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982 that used broken windows as a metaphor for disorder within neighborhoods.
Expanding on the theory, they write, “If the first broken window in a building is not repaired, the people who like breaking windows will assume that no one cares about the building and more windows will be broken. Soon the building will have no windows.” The real-time result is that if you let minor crimes such as shoplifting, car theft, or vagrancy go unchecked, there will be a subsequent increase in other more serious crimes.
The state and some local politicians of today seem to be tossing rocks at those windows at an alarming rate. For example, the governor recently signed a law repealing a loitering law that targeted street prostitution, and he has previously directed the release of thousands of convicted felons. Soon there will be no windows left, only the chaos of unchecked homelessness, shoplifting, public intoxication, nonprescription drug use, assaults, robberies, and other criminal activity that is seemingly beyond the reach of law enforcement because of political policy decisions.
Seasoned police officers have told me that an increase in crime may also be because 76 percent of available multi-family units in Lompoc are occupied by low-income families compared to less than 7 percent in other neighboring jurisdictions; we lack an effective mental health care system; certain laws decriminalized violent offenses; the probation department lacks enforcement; the county District Attorney criminal filing policies are lax; certain laws restrict and prohibit how law enforcement deals with juvenile offenders; and certain laws that were enacted under the guise of “police reform.” Then consider the struggle and challenge of hiring police officers, further exacerbated by retention challenges.
The rise in crime may also be attributed to a complex mix of issues: the other issues are nonprescription drug use, absentee fathers, rampant and unchecked homelessness, rise in gang friction, and—the largest contributor—underfunding the police department.
According to the California attorney general website, between 2011 and 2020 the following crimes occurred in Lompoc.
In 2016 there were no murders, and since 2011 the highest number in one year had been three. In 2019 there were seven murders in the city, and in 2020 there were four. Midway through this year there have already been five homicides. The use of guns in assaults has also increased: In 2011 there were 17 shootings; in 2019 there were 65; and in 2020 there were 73 assaults using a gun.
In 2016 there were 19 robberies; in 2017 there were 37; in 2018 there were 32; in 2019 there were 32; and in 2020 there were 27. In 2016 there were 130 auto thefts; 151 in 2017; 144 in 2018; 236 in 2019; and 231 in 2020.
The overall crime rate in 2016 was about equal to the national rate; however, in 2019 it was nearly double the national average. Only after the state of California reduced the penalties for many so-called “victimless crimes” did the numbers somewhat recede; the violations are still occurring, real people are still impacted but the stats went down—there, problem solved.
So, what does this have to do with the unlimited manufacturing, sale, and, with some restrictions, the use of cannabis in our city? Well, it takes money to buy these products; it takes more money to legally manufacture and sell the same products.
This opens an opportunity for street dealers to flourish since they don’t have to worry about permits; regulatory oversight; or paying fees, taxes, or anything else. They just set up shop in an alley or on a street corner and hope that rival competition doesn’t pass by and shoot them.
Because of the stronger varieties of cannabis available on the legal and especially the illegal market, it also creates an increased paranoia among users; prior to legalization it was somewhere below 5 percent THC, and because of plant biological improvements it is now at nearly 95 percent THC. And as the user moves on to regular use, it creates a desire for ever stronger drugs to achieve the desired high.
Based on the information I have provided, you can make up your own mind. Were past Lompoc City Council members complicit in the increase in criminal activity or is it just a sign of the times?
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a response for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 14-21, 2022.
