Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón may be more than 20 points behind his challenger in a recent poll, but he wants voters to remember what he has done for them for the last three years.
One of the accomplishments he touted is his crackdown on employers who committed wage theft.
“We now have 325 workers that were given over $3 million back,” Gascón said during his interview on NBC Los Angeles’ NewsConference, adding his office has also gone after environmental crimes and rigorously yet “thoughtfully” pursued police accountability.
While Gascón is well aware of the criticism that he may be soft on crime and that his policies may have led to Angelenos feeling unsafe, the District Attorney appeared to blame the COVID-19 pandemic for the sentiment as FBI statistics show violent crime and homicide rates decreased in 2023 and early 2024.
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“We went through a horrible period of time during the pandemic. I think it had a tremendous impact on, not only in the criminal legal system, but it had a tremendous social displacement,” Gascón said. “While things are starting to come down, we're still living with a residual of two years of very, very tough times.”
The district attorney for one of the largest counties in the nation also insisted that his office has been prosecuting aggressively when necessary but with a “thoughtful” approach to avoid wrongful convictions.
“If it's appropriate, we'll go after (murder convicts) for life without the possibility of parole. What we are doing is when we're alleging enhancements, we are being much more thoughtful, but we're doing so when it's appropriate,” Gascón explained.
He also defended his progressive reforms he implemented, including policies that aim to end mass incarceration.
“We are prosecuting cases aggressively. We're sending people to prison aggressively when they need to be. But we're also trying to ensure that when people are being convicted because they deserve to be convicted,” he said.
Gascón also said his progressive mission to reform Los Angeles County’s criminal justice system needs more than one term.
“You cannot reform an entire process that's been broken for so many years over a four-year period of time, the DA said. “It would be an honor if I had (voters’) support, but I understand this is a democracy, and people have a right to elect who they choose.”
