There is a destructive crime and justice trend afoot that clearly endangers public safety.

No, it is not the actions of violent protestors and riotous thugs. It is the deliberate inaction of district attorneys who are refusing to prosecute violations of law.

Mike Schmidt, the DA in riot-scarred Portland, Oregon, announced he’s dropping charges against hundreds of protestors arrested for criminal trespass, disorderly conduct or interfering with a law enforcement officer. He won’t prosecute those arrested for rioting either, unless there’s some serious additional crime, such as arson, included.

In July, antifa and Black Lives Matter supporter Michael Reinoehl was arrested for illegally possessing a loaded firearm and resisting arrest. But the previous DA dropped the case, and Reinoehl was set free. In early September, Reinoehl confessed on videotape to fatally shooting Aaron J. Danielson, a pro-Trump supporter. Reinoehl said it was self-defense, but surveillance video showed him lying in wait for a target. U.S. Marshals hunted down the fugitive Reinoehl, and he was killed in an exchange of gunfire.

Two men dead who didn’t have to die.

This DA dereliction of duty is occurring across the country. Progressive prosecutors are picking and choosing which laws to uphold and which to ignore.

In Philadelphia, DA Larry Krasner decided to ease up on those arrested on gun-related charges. He’s also against prosecuting marijuana dealers and sex workers because, he says, “People’s freedom makes us safer.” Homicide rates in Philadelphia have risen 30% from last year, and Krasner now agrees his prosecutors should work more closely with police to crack down on gun violence. Duh.

In Contra Costa County, California, DA Diana Becton instructed her prosecutors to consider looters’ “needs” when deciding whether to file criminal charges. The head of the Antioch Police Officers Association says the policy is “reckless” and asks, “At what point does our District Attorney’s Office advocate for the victims,” like local business owners whose shops have been destroyed?

In Boston, DA Rachael Rollins has a “decline to prosecute” list of 15 charges, including drug possession and possession with intent to distribute, receiving stolen property, malicious destruction of property and shoplifting. She says judges told her those crimes were “bogging down” the system, so she decided to ignore them. The Retailers Association of Massachusetts reports businesses there lose about $1 billion a year to shoplifting. Ignore the crime, and punish the victim? Sounds crazy.

Yes, DAs have discretion to decide which cases to take and which to drop, but this willy-nilly social experimentation with the law is dangerous. If laws are on the books, they should be upheld. If they are unfair, then state legislatures should change them. No, we don’t want to be a country that locks up hungry people who shoplift food and necessities to survive, but a blanket pass for almost all shoplifters is counterproductive.

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