Whenever we hear of robberies, we tend to focus our sympathy toward the victims — the persons or stores that were robbed.  We should remember that there are other indirect victims on whom property crimes also take a substantial toll. I refer to the thousands of public servants in our justice system for whom the work of investigating, prosecuting, trying, and incarcerating thieves entails considerable time and expense.  Taxpayers are also affected.  The cost of processing such crimes frequently dwarfs the value of the stolen property. A few years ago, the State of California set about to rectify this problem with Proposition 47, entitled the "Reduced Penalties for Some Crimes Initiative."  Supporters, including a former San Francisco district attorney and a former San Diego police chief, called it the "Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act" because, they said, it would free up law enforcement officers to pursue more...(Read Full Post)