Sheriff on Proposition 15
The most important crime-solving measure on the March 7 ballot is Proposition 15, the $220-million bond to upgrade local crime laboratories. Many of the police departments throughout the state voiced their support of the legislation that put this measure on the ballot. Securing its passage should be one of the highest priorities for law enforcement this year.
As we all know, modern crime-solving forensic labs are among the most necessary tools we use to help identify, catch and convict criminals and exonerate the innocent. Yet many of the laboratories in this state are overcrowded and underfunded. The chronic lack of space adversely affects the criminal justice system by contributing to backlogs and inhibiting proper analysis. Technology is moving at the speed of light but our ability to use that technology to solve crimes is moving at a snail’s pace because of inadequate, understaffed and outdated forensic crime labs.
Generally, crime labs draw very little public action yet their work is a vital public safety function and law enforcement knows the critically important role they play in solving previously unsolvable cases.
I urge all our law enforcement friends, family and the communities we serve to go to the polls on March 7 and vote yes on Proposition 15.
BOB BROOKS
Ventura County Sheriff
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