For three consecutive election cycles, SCRB Strategies ran and produced media for successful criminal justice reform initiatives that defied the conventional wisdom dismissing sentencing reform as a political "third rail."
SCRB led Prop 36 in 2012, an important reform of the "three strikes" law, which prevailed in every county in California with nearly 70% of the popular vote. The initiative is now widely hailed as a public policy success. In 2014, SCRB ran Prop 47, a landmark reform reducing felony sentences for simple drug possession and petty theft to misdemeanors, winning overwhelming support from 59% of Californians. And, in 2016, Governor Brown's Prop 57 passed with more than 64% of the vote to reform the parole system and give incentives for non-violent offenders to turn their lives around.
The key to success for all of these campaigns was to neutralize opposition and hit the airwaves with a message from prosecutors, victims, crime experts, and trusted elected officials that emphasized how sentencing reform makes communities safer.