SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers are finally sending to Gov. Gavin Newsom a hot potato of a bill that would bar police from making arrests on a charge of loitering for prostitution, nine months after the measure passed the Legislature, the author of the bill announced Monday.
Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener and other supporters said arrests for loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution often rely on police officers’ perceptions and disproportionately target transgender, Black and Latino women.
Critics see it as a further erosion of criminal penalties that tie the hands of police on quality-of-life issues like shoplifting and car burglaries. Greg Burt, a spokesman
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