California's claim of reduced crime rate

I was reading about how the crime rate in California has decreased. The subject came up during a discussion regarding illegal aliens. The other person in the discussion was trying to claim that the reduction in crime in California was evidence that illegal aliens commit less crime than what is being claimed in many official documents. At first glance, what he was claiming seemed to have some merit. However, then I found out how California has reduced the crime rate for the state.

Before I explain the simple but devious method that California has used, let me first make some obvious statements. Crime statistics are only kept for those activities defined as a crime. For instance, if you define armed robbery as a crime, then there will crime statistics kept regarding armed robbery. Also, if a person is not charged with a crime even though he committed the crime, then it will not be reflected in crime statistics. Keep these things in mind. Now, the truth is that first of all, many illegal aliens who are committing felonies in California are not being charged with a felony because of the “sanctuary state” laws. Of course, American citizens will be charged with a felony, but some illegal aliens are being released back into society without charges being filed. Secondly, California has changed the definition of many felonies. For instance, armed robbery used to be a felony in California regardless of the amount of the robbery. However, now any robbery in California of an amount less than $950 is no longer a felony, even armed robbery. Indecent exposure used to be a felony in some cases, but with the out-of-control homelessness, public urination and defecation is now ignored. In other words, California has reduced their crime rate be redefining many felonies to be misdemeanors or less. Using their method, I could decriminalize everything, and I could claim that they have the lowest crime rate in the nation. However, a lie by misdirection or misstatement of facts is still a lie, even for California. The “so-called” reduced crime rate means absolutely nothing. Public safety has been grossly reduced in California and the government is lying about it.