LA County DA Nathan Hochman tells San Fernando council he will ‘work the hard middle’ on prosecutions and track Proposition 36 effects

Nathan Hochman, the Los Angeles County district attorney, told the San Fernando City Council that his office will pursue what he called the “hard middle” approach to prosecutions and will use new tools in Proposition 36 to target chronic offenders.

Hochman spoke at a council meeting in San Fernando as part of an update the council requested about Proposition 36 and its expected impact on local crime. He described an individualized charging approach that aims to hold repeat and violent offenders accountable while offering treatment alternatives for people whose primary need is substance-abuse rehabilitation.

Hochman said the DA’s office will look at each case’s facts and the defendant’s background rather than follow an ideological directive. “I reject all sides of that political agenda,” he told the council, adding that his office will “treat each case individually” and direct stronger enforcement against repeat offenders while offering non‑custodial alternatives when appropriate.

Why this matters: Proposition 36 (as explained by Hochman at the meeting) gives prosecutors and judges additional sentencing options for repeat offenders, including the ability in some circumstances to upgrade a third qualifying theft or drug-related conviction to a felony. That change is intended to increase penalties for chronic offenders who, law enforcement says, commit a disproportionate share of theft and organized retail crime.

Hochman described three ways his approach will be tracked: who is charged under the statute, how judges use their discretion in those cases, and how law enforcement partners apply the new tool. He said it is still early to draw countywide conclusions: “We’ll probably need a minimum three months, probably more like six months, and definitely by the year mark, we’ll see how Proposition 36 has been used,” he said.

He listed five enforcement priorities his office has organized into task forces: fentanyl poisonings, organized retail theft, residential burglary, homelessness-related crimes, and human trafficking. He emphasized tougher action against fentanyl dealers and repeat thieves and said diversion to treatment will be an option for qualifying drug offenders.

Council members asked for concrete metrics and follow-up. Hochman offered to report back to the council once the DA’s office has sufficient data on Proposition 36 cases in San Fernando and the region.

Ending: Hochman accepted additional council questions about judicial response, oversight of law enforcement, and partnerships on homelessness and school safety, and he said he would return with more data on how the new statute is being applied and its local impacts.