It has been reported by Fox that Republican members of Congress are lambasting Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon after the prosecutor rolled out a “diversion” program that could allow 17-year-olds who rob someone at knifepoint or commit sex crimes to skirt criminal charges.
Gascon initially announced his Restorative Enhanced Diversion for Youth (REDY) program in November, but an internal memo to his prosecutors last week, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, provides more insight into which criminals under age 18 would be eligible.
Minors accused of burglary, vehicle theft, assaults or robberies, arson or sexual battery can be selected for the program – as long as they are not suspected of committing the offense using a firearm and no one was seriously injured. Juveniles accused of murder or rape cannot be recommended for the program, but even Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami has taken issue with Gascon’s language, as it doesn’t specify that minors accused of committing crimes while wielding a knife or blunt instrument would be ineligible.
“I’d like for him to step down. He’s not going to change his ways if he’s truly interested in public safety,” Rep. Mike Garcia, a Republican serving California’s 25th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital. “We’ll find someone who’s on the side of the victim, rather than the criminal.”
The latest program is “a continuation of really this theme that he’s got of trying to take care of the criminals before he’s trying to protect the law-abiding citizens,” Garcia said Wednesday. “It really subverts the Constitution in regard to due process. This effectively takes minors who have committed very serious felonies out of the court system before they’re even charged and gives them an opportunity to go into this restorative rehabilitation program.”
According to Gascon’s office, eligible minors will avoid criminal charges “by agreeing to participate in an individually tailored program designed to address the underlying issues that contribute to criminal behavior, such as mental health needs or substance use.”
But the congressman took issue with the lack of court oversight – no corrections or parole officers – to monitor juvenile offenders’ behavior during the program and after their release. Garcia said minors will be “recycled through the system again and ultimately put back on the streets with no accountability.”
“The whole point of law and order and the whole point of the criminal justice system and having punishments is to deter people from committing crimes,” Garcia said.
