WEBVTT - "Newsom Hasn't Met With Us" Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco Talks To A&G

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Armstrong and Getty Show. Sheriff Chad Bianco

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<v Speaker 1>of Riverside County first elected in twenty eighteen, re elected

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<v Speaker 1>in twenty twenty two to his second term. A twenty

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<v Speaker 1>nine year veteran of the sheriff's office, Chad is the

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<v Speaker 1>chief law enforcement officer of Riverside County and beautiful southern

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<v Speaker 1>California Sheriff.

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<v Speaker 2>How are you, sir, I'm doing well. Thank you, Thanks

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<v Speaker 2>for having me on.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh it's our pleasure. We played a bit of audio

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<v Speaker 1>from you the other day in which you are describing

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<v Speaker 1>the California Sheriff's Association and its long history of meeting

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<v Speaker 1>with and conferring with governors, because obviously the chief executive

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<v Speaker 1>of the state needs to be in touch with law enforcement.

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<v Speaker 1>And we are just shocked and appalled and not like

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<v Speaker 1>fake talk show host appalled, but just appalled by the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that Governor Gavin Newsom has not met with you, folks.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that right?

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<v Speaker 2>That is one hundred percent correct, and it's in the

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<v Speaker 2>first time ever. I mean, we talked about all the

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<v Speaker 2>sheriffs have a long history of meeting with the sheriffs,

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<v Speaker 2>and the Sheriff's meeting with the governor about crime in

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<v Speaker 2>the state. It's a unique place to meet with only

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<v Speaker 2>fifty eight sheriffs and talk about what everyone is experiencing

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<v Speaker 2>across the state in terms of public safety. And Newsom

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<v Speaker 2>flat out refuses to meet with us. We've begged, we've pleaded,

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<v Speaker 2>we've tried, and he's the only governor that anyone can

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<v Speaker 2>remember that has refused. And so you know that did

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<v Speaker 2>me saying that, and that play did get a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of traction. And the funny thing about it is his

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<v Speaker 2>crazy little run for governor, which our for president, which

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<v Speaker 2>I hope the rest of the country clues in on

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<v Speaker 2>what we already know. He immediately reached out and said, oh,

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<v Speaker 2>we need to work together and we need to please

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<v Speaker 2>stop stop Sheriff Bianco from saying that. And so now

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<v Speaker 2>he met with a group of five sheriffs. It was

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<v Speaker 2>completely uneventful. It was a token meeting. So technically I

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<v Speaker 2>can't say he doesn't meet with us, because he did

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<v Speaker 2>arrange one meeting, but it was useless. It was a

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<v Speaker 2>tool so he can kind of keep me quiet, but

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<v Speaker 2>it won't work.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow, that is astounding. So just a word to the

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<v Speaker 1>audience all across the country and around the world, not

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<v Speaker 1>in California. If you know, if our fifty states are

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<v Speaker 1>indeed laboratories of democracy, you need to know what some

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<v Speaker 1>of the progressive experiments in law enforcement are doing to

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<v Speaker 1>a beautiful, beautiful state. I think it's worth hearing no

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<v Speaker 1>matter where you live. But Sheriff, let's talk about some

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<v Speaker 1>of the recent you know, ballot measures and changes to

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<v Speaker 1>California law and what that has meant to citizens and

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<v Speaker 1>what you see on the street.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, there's been so many and they and they didn't

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<v Speaker 2>start this just today. They didn't start yesterday. They started

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<v Speaker 2>a decade ago, a little bit more than a decade ago.

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<v Speaker 2>And the policies that they have put into places there

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<v Speaker 2>are policies of decriminalization. They they are policies of emptying

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<v Speaker 2>our prisons, not because people aren't committing crimes. It's because

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<v Speaker 2>people will never go to prison anymore. They have overcrowded

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<v Speaker 2>our jails by forcing state prisoners into county jails where

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<v Speaker 2>they do not belong. So now none of our county

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<v Speaker 2>jails have room for the regular people that we arrest

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<v Speaker 2>every day. That should you know that spend a couple

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<v Speaker 2>of days or a couple of weeks or months in

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<v Speaker 2>jail and then go back into society. We're housing state

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<v Speaker 2>prisoners now, and then they close state prisons, so once

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<v Speaker 2>they've emptied out enough bed space in prisons where they

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<v Speaker 2>can consolidate and empty a prison. Governor Newsom's stated goal

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<v Speaker 2>is to close as many prisons as he can. And

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<v Speaker 2>it has nothing to do with eliminating crime. Everyone in

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<v Speaker 2>this state knows that crime is through the roof. They

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<v Speaker 2>have changed the definition of crime, so crimes that were

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<v Speaker 2>felonies ten years ago are now misimeanors or infractions or

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes not even a crime anymore. And then for people

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<v Speaker 2>that don't know, that aren't paying attention, you get people

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<v Speaker 2>like Newsome that get up and tout his you know

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<v Speaker 2>how well he's done with fighting crime because his crime's down. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>anyone with common sense knows that if nothing's a crime anymore,

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<v Speaker 2>there isn't going to be any crime. So they're legalizing drugs.

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<v Speaker 2>They want date rate drugs legalized. They're trying to prevent

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<v Speaker 2>law abiding residents from having guns, while they flat out

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<v Speaker 2>refuse to penalize criminals who commit crimes with guns. It

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<v Speaker 2>is a very bizarre situation. We are here living in California,

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<v Speaker 2>and I hope the world learns it.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, for folks who haven't heard this, we've been tracking

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<v Speaker 1>a handful of the radical left DA's in LA and

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<v Speaker 1>San Francisco and Oakland, California, among other places. And while

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<v Speaker 1>the left is always howling from stricter and stricter gun control,

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<v Speaker 1>if you are caught committing a felony with a gun,

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<v Speaker 1>these das will not apply the use of a gun enhancement.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, how insane is that?

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<v Speaker 2>Anyway?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't want to get too hung up on that.

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<v Speaker 1>So the prison thing is speaking of insane. So the

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<v Speaker 1>federal judge said a number of years ago, California's prisons

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<v Speaker 1>are way too crowded. You got to do something about it. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>if you have that many people breaking that many laws,

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<v Speaker 1>you clearly need more prisons. But the answer from the

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<v Speaker 1>one party state, and it's only in recent years, what

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<v Speaker 1>a dozen, fifteen years that California has become a one

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<v Speaker 1>party state, the answer was, well, we got to empty

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<v Speaker 1>out the prison. As Sheriff Bianco pointed out, we're going

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<v Speaker 1>to jam the state prisoners into the county jails. Now

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<v Speaker 1>the county jails have no room for the local bad guys.

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<v Speaker 1>Then you have prosecutors won't prosecute, and so you get

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<v Speaker 1>the revolving door of committing sometimes very serious crimes and

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<v Speaker 1>you're just out on the street to commit another crime. Tomorrow,

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<v Speaker 1>I want to talk about it's recently come out that

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of the system, the what do you call it,

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<v Speaker 1>the organized shoplifting rings as are some of them are

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<v Speaker 1>actually controlled by the Mexican drug cartels because it's become

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<v Speaker 1>so popular. How is Riverside County doing with the rampant

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<v Speaker 1>shoplifting thing. Are all your you know, shampoos and bottles

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<v Speaker 1>of scots and everything behind lock and key, like in

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<v Speaker 1>northern California.

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<v Speaker 2>No, they're not. Well. I will have to say that

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<v Speaker 2>some stores, if they're like large department stores that are

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<v Speaker 2>all across the state, if they have a policy of

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<v Speaker 2>doing that. Yes, we have some stores that are locking

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<v Speaker 2>up their merchandise. But here in Riverside County, we are

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<v Speaker 2>an extremely proactive law enforcement area county, not only with

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<v Speaker 2>me and my large department, but all of our police departments,

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<v Speaker 2>and we have a very pro law enforcement DA who

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<v Speaker 2>actually believes that criminals should be prosecuted and held accountable

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<v Speaker 2>for their crimes. So I'm not going to say that

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<v Speaker 2>we're immune to these these smash and grabs and these

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<v Speaker 2>retail thefts. But when we have them, they seem to

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<v Speaker 2>be coming from other counties, and they we catch them

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<v Speaker 2>and we prosecute them, We arrest them, we jail them.

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<v Speaker 2>So the criminal element knows that we are a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit different here because we are very proactive in our

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<v Speaker 2>law enforcement response, and we hear that from the criminals.

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<v Speaker 2>But it is certainly across the state. They have emboldened

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<v Speaker 2>criminals to the level where the cartels and the gangs

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<v Speaker 2>are now taking advantage of these situations and running rings

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<v Speaker 2>crime rings because they know they're not going to get prosecuted.

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<v Speaker 1>That's amazing and astounding. Sheriff Chad Bianco, policy matters so much.

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<v Speaker 1>We got an email from a cop that was just priceless.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't remember precisely the counties that were involved. It

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<v Speaker 1>was in the Bay Area, California, and he was talking

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<v Speaker 1>about busting somebody who did one of those big shoplifting sprees.

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<v Speaker 1>And the guy looked at the CoP's badge and said,

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<v Speaker 1>oh my god, I didn't realize I was in Santa

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<v Speaker 1>Clara County. He was like on the side of the

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<v Speaker 1>street that was that county. He thought he was still

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<v Speaker 1>in whichever other county it was where they don't prosecute

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<v Speaker 1>at all. Policy matters. Doesn't it to quality of life?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh? One hundred percent? And I'm telling you the criminals

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<v Speaker 2>know it. We recently arrested a jewelry a smash and

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<v Speaker 2>grab at a jewelry store that we linked to several

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<v Speaker 2>others in our county and out of county, and their

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<v Speaker 2>response when we caught them was, where did all the

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<v Speaker 2>cops come from? We didn't know you guys did enforcement here?

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<v Speaker 2>And it truly is policies mean things. Policies mean everything,

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<v Speaker 2>and we California is under the leadership of Newsom, at

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<v Speaker 2>the direction of Newsom, is in a state where we

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<v Speaker 2>have decriminalized everything. We believe that criminals are victims of

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<v Speaker 2>society and it's the law enforcement's fault that someone commits crime.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not theirs, and it's hurting us. It's really it's

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<v Speaker 2>killing our communities. It's driving our business. Isn't our residents

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<v Speaker 2>out of state, it's driving our law enforcement officers out

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<v Speaker 2>of state, and we're going to collapse.

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<v Speaker 1>I was just going to ask, how's the riverside County

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<v Speaker 1>Sheriff's Department doing Do you have all the deputies you need?

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<v Speaker 1>How staffing well?

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<v Speaker 2>We are actually doing well, and we are unique to

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<v Speaker 2>law enforcement in California. I meet with chiefs and I

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<v Speaker 2>meet with other sheriffs all of the time, and we

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<v Speaker 2>talk about our issues with recruiting and with retention, and

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<v Speaker 2>because I am so vocal, because we are so pro

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<v Speaker 2>law enforcement, and you know, we want to go out

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<v Speaker 2>and rest as many people as we can, and we're

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<v Speaker 2>very vocal about it. Law enforcement officers that want to

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<v Speaker 2>be in the job come here. So we are not

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<v Speaker 2>while well. We experience the same less applications across the

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<v Speaker 2>country because people are just not coming into law enforcement

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<v Speaker 2>like they used to. Our agency, we're actually doing fine.

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<v Speaker 2>We're hiring enough to keep up with attrition. We're increasing

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<v Speaker 2>increasing our ranks a little bit, so we're doing well,

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<v Speaker 2>but the rest of the state is not.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, they say a good lawyer should know the

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<v Speaker 1>answer to a question before he asks it. I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>know the answer to that question, Sheriff, but I had

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<v Speaker 1>a really strong feeling, given you know, the reasons you gave,

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<v Speaker 1>and that you have a pro law enforcement DA and

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<v Speaker 1>everything I had a feeling you were doing a lot

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<v Speaker 1>better than a lot of places where the cops know

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<v Speaker 1>the brass doesn't have their backs because the politicians don't

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<v Speaker 1>have the chiefs back or the sheriff's back or whatever.

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<v Speaker 1>And these are the cities that are hundreds of officers short.

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<v Speaker 1>Whether it's you know, San Francisco or Portland, Seattle, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>LA policy matters once again, Sheriff Chad Bianco or Riverside

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<v Speaker 1>County Sheriff really enjoyed the Chad. I hope we can

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<v Speaker 1>stay in touch. This stuff is important.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely anytime I'm available, I'm strong