Dan Lungren's Benchmark Record on Public Safety

By Dan Lungren

Public safety - Government's first priority -- Attorney General Dan Lungren advocates that, "It's time for the government at all levels to recognize that its first priority has to be the protection of its citizens. If we fail our people here, we fail them everywhere."

Public safety - Government's first priority -- Attorney General Dan Lungren advocates that, "It's time for the government at all levels to recognize that its first priority has to be the protection of its citizens. If we fail our people here, we fail them everywhere."

Death penalty -- Dan Lungren vigorously helped implement California's death penalty law for the first time in over a quarter of a century. At the federal level, Lungren was a guest of honor at the White House for the signing of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act -- for his 14-year effort to achieve meaningful habeas corpus reform -- to prevent convicted murderers from stringing out their appeals in federal courts for over a decade.

Three Strikes and You're Out -- Dan Lungren credits this high-impact crime legislation as one of the major reasons for California's double-digit crime reduction since it became law in 1993. The Attorney General was an early supporter and strong advocate of this tough anti-career criminal law. Lungren's office has successfully upheld three strikes convictions at the appellate level, overwhelmingly winning most of the issues raised in litigation.

Truth in sentencing -- As a member of Congress, Dan Lungren helped put an end to the virtually automatic accumulation of good time credits whereby federal inmates were merely serving half their given sentence. As Attorney General, Lungren continued his commitment to truth in sentencing by sponsoring legislation that requires California criminals to serve at least 85% of their sentence.

Incarceration -- "Here is the simple truth: We don't build prisons and jails in a vacuum. This is no 'Field of Dreams' -- we don't say, 'Build them and they will come.' We build them because we want criminals behind bars, not in or around our homes or schools." · Attorney General Lungren, State of the Public Safety Address, 1/29/97.

National leadership in protecting women and children from sex offenders -- The Attorney General sponsored California's "Megan's Law" -- the most comprehensive sex offender notification law in the nation. With the alarming rates of recidivism amongst sexual predators, Lungren addressed his concerns for the safety of women and children, by orchestrating the passage of this legislation in California and implementing the most sophisticated public access program in the nation.

Victims -- Dan Lungren has successfully shepherded many crime victim programs and legislation to put victim's rights at the fore, instead of coddling and safeguarding the criminal. As a champion of victim's rights, Lungren sponsored legislation to secure the right of victims to be present at all criminal proceedings where the defendant, prosecutor and the public are present; and through Lungren's complete retooling of the California Victims of Crime Fund, victims now recover more than $5.5 million a month in restitution.

Guns and violence -- Attorney General Lungren was a principle supporter of the "10-20-Life" legislation, which adds 10 years to the sentence of anyone who uses a firearm during the commission of certain felonies; 20 years if the gun is fired; and 25-years-to-life if the victim is wounded. Lungren acknowledges that Californians vastly differ on the highly sensitive issue of guns, but one principle that is unanimously clear is that we should aggressively pursue criminals who use guns to commit crimes. "10-20-Life" more than any other gun legislation, encompasses this principle. Lungren is also a long-time advocate for requiring background checks of prospective gun buyers to prevent criminals and mentally ill persons from legally buying a gun. In his tenure as Attorney General, Lungren's office has processed over three million such applications, denying about 30,000 attempted gun purchases - including more than 200 individuals previously convicted of homicide. Lungren also has supported and worked to implement the state's complicated assault weapons law, resulting in the ban of sales of over 50 specific assault weapon models. His office continues to defend portions of the law against constitutional attack in state court.

Juvenile Crime -- Dan Lungren has supported a comprehensive approach to juvenile crime that ranges from prevention and intervention for first-time non-violent delinquents to serious punishment for violent offenders. Lungren believes in tougher sentencing for juveniles who commit serious and violent crimes, the lifting of the cloak of anonymity for juvenile felons, and cracking down on gangs through innovative law enforcement/community partnerships. Lungren has also strongly pushed for greater focus on initial delinquent behavior (curfew violations, truancy and graffiti), parental involvement and responsibility, and resources for local programs and law enforcement as preventive measures.

Drugs -- In 1995's State of the Public Safety address, Dan Lungren stated, "For those who cavalierly suggest that drugs aren't that bad, that perhaps they ought to be legalized or that it's okay to joke about drugs and celebrate them in our popular culture -- please, think before you talk. Think about the terrible message you are sending to our kids, and start acting responsibly." Since taking office, Lungren's agents have made more than 57,000 drug arrests, seized more than 3,700 illegal methamphetamine production labs and taken more than 17,000 weapons out of the hands of criminals and off the streets, and seized nearly $6.3 billion in drug money.

Domestic violence/spousal abuse -- Under Attorney General Dan Lungren, the California Department of Justice has created domestic abuse prevention programs such as the $10 million Spousal Abuse Prosecution Program to assist local prosecutors in spousal abuse cases. Lungren's Department of Justice has also operated the Domestic Violence Restraining Order System, which currently has 100,000 active restraining orders denying approximately 1,300 firearm purchases in the last 6 ½ years to persons with a domestic violence restraining order.

Strengthening California's Criminal Justice Infrastructure -- Prior to Dan Lungren's tenure as Attorney General, California transported criminal fingerprints by time-consuming paper-and-mail systems and had no state laboratory dedicated to DNA analysis. Today, the Attorney General has established the highly sophisticated DNA lab in Berkeley, making California a world leader in DNA technology, and dramatically increased the criminal fingerprint technology and turnaround time through our Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and Automated Latent Print System (ALPS). These and many other Lungren sponsored state-of-the-art technology programs have dramatically provided better assistance to local law enforcement.

Community-oriented policing -- Along with the "Three Strikes and You're Out" law, community-oriented policing is one of the major reasons for the dramatic decrease in California's crime rate in the past several years. Attorney General Dan Lungren is a national leader in promoting community-oriented policing. Under his direction, California's Departments of Justice was among the very first in the United States to issue a resource book on Community-Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS), which has helped thousands of local law enforcement agencies across the U.S. move forward with successful transitions to this effective public safety strategy.

Crime down to a record low -- During Dan Lungren's tenure as Attorney General, crime in California has plummeted 30%, back to the crime levels of 1968. He primarily credits the dramatic decrease in crime to leadership at the local law enforcement level, the rebirth of community-based policing, the "Three Strikes and You're Out" law and other recent tough crime laws. Lungren's goal is to eventually bring the crime level in California back to what it was in the mid-1950's.

"Culture of Violence" -- Attorney General Dan Lungren has helped spark a national debate about "the culture of violence" pervading much of American society. From music to movies and video games to sports, Lungren has placed a spotlight on those who promote needless and gratuitous violence and called on industry leaders to act responsibly.