Stop clearing out the prisons.

Instead, clear the streets.

If you don’t think those nine words should be the mantra of any Californian that believes the state is worth saving, then Google “Stockton 7-Eleven stick beating” each day to remind yourself of where we are now.

This refers to the video that highlights why it is time for someone, somewhere, to launch a ballot intuitive to reverse parts of Proposition 47.

You know the one. It was the ballot measure designed to correct parts of the Three Strikes Law that clearly had some serious overreach regarding petty thefts leading to 10-year prison terms.

But what voters were misled into passing in 2014 went way beyond dialing back on situations where the Three Strikes Law ended up being the very definition of cruel and unusual punishment.

You will come across studies such as by the Public Policy Institute of California that will cite data that Proposition 47 worked because recidivism in terms of once inmates are released from prison ending up back behind bars dropped 1.8 percent down to 70.8 percent.

Duh.

Of course, it dropped. That’s because Prop. 47 meant they never ended up being arrested again for thefts/shoplifting below $950 providing they were smart. All they get — if caught — is a citation.

“Smart” moves means being a serial criminal never gets you felony status and rarely lands you behind bars for more than a few days.

The ones that aren’t smart – and there is anecdotal evidence most criminals aren’t — end up still heading back to prison,

By “smart”, that means not ripping off someone for more than $950 in any given incident.

 It means not using violence, during the commission of the crime.

It means not fleeing police who actually still respond in a few select communities like Manteca where local leaders and the police command haven’t simply given up.

Yes, it is akin to playing whack-a-mole.

But guess what. It is what keeps Manteca from becoming Dodge, Glendale, San Francisco, or Stockton.

Criminals only brazenly ride bicycles into Walgreens stores in San Francisco, grab what they can and pedal back through the front door. Wrong.

Criminals emboldened by such illegal acts that happen more and more without a police response swarm clothing stories only in places like Glendale looting it without the pretense of a riot. Wrong.

Experts — those that are apologists for criminal behavior – have been saying such incidents are isolated.

Guess again.

The incident of a brazen repeat shoplifter behind beaten with a stick during his third trip into a 7-Eleven in downtown Stockton to rip-off the owners was only 12 miles away from the closest 7-Eleven in Manteca at North Main Street and Northgate Drive.

And if you think the toxic eroding of societal norms by criminals that Proposition 47 has rained down on California are isolated incidents, guess again.

The most stunning thing about the three robbery incidents within several days of each other at the 7-Eleven was the fact it was directly across the street from the Stockton Police Department.

Nothing says California is a place of law and order than criminals being so brazen to hit the same 7-Eleven that is located directly across from a police department  three times in less than a week.

This wasn’t the poster child criminal as a circumstance victim that Proposition 47 backers paraded before California voters in 2014.

He wasn’t stealing a loaf of bread to fill his stomach when he got tripped up by a Third Strike and sent to prison for 12 years.

The Stockon criminal brazenly rolled in a 96-gallon garbage can on coasters lined with a  plastic bag that he was casually shoving shelves full of tobacco products into.

This is the same guy who previously implied he would  shoot the employees if they didn’t empty the cash drawer when he came into the store and made movements inferring he had a handgun.

The two workers — one who wrestled the guy to the floor as he tried to push his garbage can stuffed with cigarettes toward the door — and the other that beat him with a  stick will not be prosecuted.

That’s because voters had the sense to elect Ron Freitas district attorney last year after his predecessor tried to model the prosecutor’s office after the restorative justice movements in Los Angeles and San Francisco counties.

The incident — if you hear the sound of the video that has garnered 2 million hits and counting — also underscores two other myths.

The man using his smartphone to video the incident tells the workers to wait for the police to respond and essentially commented, “Don’t you have insurance?”

Insurance doesn’t cover a loss of a thousand dollars or so on merchandise.

Commercial insurance doesn’t work that way. There are deductibles that are way above $1,000 with premiums subject to being jacked  up — assuming coverage is available in the first place — and cancelled if claims become too common place.

That means if you get enough such brazen thefts, you’re talking thousands of dollars a week and the very viability of someone’s livelihood is in jeopardy.

As for the police showing up, with staffing in Stockton even higher per capita than in Manteca the chances of that are slim to none unless there is a life threatening situation or a felony in progress.

Under Proposition 47, criminals descending on businesses like locust that keep thefts below the $950 threshold do not define a felonious act.

It should be noted the workers only struck the suspect below the belt to minimize injuries and stopped two blows after the man said “I’m done.”

That said, police correctly warn people they shouldn’t take matters into their own hands.

 But what would you do of it is the same man three times in a week who casually walks into your store and takes whatever he wants believing he is bulletproof under California law when it comes to facing serious consequence for his actions?

And while we’re at it, let’s inject a little politics.

Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln wants to represent most of San Joaquin County including Manteca, Ripon, Tracy, Mountain House and Escalon in Congress.

In a statement, Lincoln noted that Proposition 47, a voter-approved measure, downgraded charges pertaining to certain theft and drug possession crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor if the value of the stolen goods is less than $950. 

To quote Lincoln, "The law hinders businesses daily by increasing shoplifting and decreasing our law enforcement's ability to hold accountable those responsible for such acts. These kinds of California state laws continue to impact communities."

Given he wants your vote for Congress, it’s only fair to ask him what he is going to do about it.

Lincoln is mayor of the 11th largest city in California.

And while Congress has nothing to do with a  state law, as a high profile city mayor he has the platform to work with like-minded leaders to push back with organizing an effort to place a measure on the ballot to alter the law.

All politics, they say, are local.

And nothing is more local in the lives of people today than a neighborhood 7-Eleven and similar stores they visit on almost a  daily basis.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com