USC students react to California decriminalizing jaywalking

After the passage of a California law that decriminalizes jaywalking, USC students no longer need to fear risking a citation if they cross the street outside of a crosswalk’s lines.

On September 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law the Freedom To Walk Act (AB 2147) , permitting California residents to jaywalk without receiving citations as long as people cross safely.

Students had mixed reactions to the bill. Some appreciated it, while others were indifferent or dismissive.

Chanel Blue, a senior studying sociology, questioned why jaywalking is an issue that requires immediate attention.

“I think there [are] a lot of other laws or bills that need to be passed or enacted rather than dealing with jaywalking,” Blue said. But she also expressed concerns over pedestrian and driver safety. “More people are probably going to get hit [with the law in place],” she said.

According to the state, when the Freedom To Walk Act takes effect in January 2023, a person can walk across the street outside of crossing intersections without receiving a citation, assuming no vehicles present any danger. Police can still write citations and ticket individuals if individuals jaywalk in dangerous conditions.

The act says that police officers should not stop to cite a pedestrian unless a “reasonable” person could recognize a potential collision with a vehicle and chooses to cross the street regardless. Officer discretion still matters for the gray areas in that description. Two officers may see “immediate danger” differently in any given situation.

Democrat Assemblymember Phil Ting of San Francisco, who first proposed The Freedom To Walk Act, echoed many peoples’ attitude towards jaywalking upon the bill’s signing. “The sentiment is very simple that we all have the right to cross the street without being fearful of being cited unnecessarily,” he said Friday.

One student doubted the utility of the bill as a whole.

“If people just have common sense to not be crossing at stupid time, I don’t think a bill … really does anything,” said Anthony Winney, a senior majoring in mathematics and computer science.

But the bill could lead to a decrease in police handing out a disproportionate number of citations to people of color. According to LAist, Black people received 32% of jaywalking citations in Los Angeles between 2010 and 2020 despite only making up 9% of the city’s population.

“For too long, our jaywalking laws were used as a pretext to stop and harass people, especially low-income people and people of color. The reforms enacted in AB 2147 will put an end to that and, in doing so, make all of California safer for pedestrians,” said Zal Shroff, senior staff attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, via the statement on Ting’s personal website.

Despite his doubts as to how the bill will affect civilians’ behavior, Winney applauded the law as a step forward in reforming law enforcement’s approach to criminal justice.

“I really appreciate the push to decriminalize petty crimes,” he said. " I think that jaywalking is absolutely something that has been a tool for racial profiling and other profiling or police having egos.”

Carly Rieger, a sophomore studying communication, emphasized how the bill is beneficial to California residents and gives pedestrians the option to cross streets earlier, without the fear of being ticketed. She explained how jaywalking is a large issue in her home state, New York, and appreciates the step towards safe, efficient crossing habits.

“It’s good to know that you can’t get in legal trouble for simply crossing the street if you’re doing it safe,” Rieger said.