Norm Maleng - Legislative Accomplishments

Legislative Accomplishments

• In the 1980s, Maleng supported reform of Washington State's sentencing system, turning it from an indeterminate parole system to a determinate scheme based upon the seriousness level of the current offense and a defendant's criminal history.
• In the 1990s, Maleng led the effort to crack down on drug offenders with longer sentences to fight the crime waive associated to violent drug dealing. Maleng later led an effort to reduce some of the longer drug sentences in lieu of treatment options for first and second time drug offenders. Maleng won support for his proposal to dedicate the money saved from the long incarcerations to long term treatment.
• In 2005 Maleng targeted chronic car thieves with his Car Theft Initiative (CTI). He dedicated deputy prosecutors to pursuing the most prolific car thieves in King County. Working with police agencies, the Prosecutor's Office targeted the "Top 20" car thieves in King County. After gaining convictions on all 20, the group pursued the next "Top 20". Maleng also went to Olympia and convinced the Legislature to increase the penalties for car thefts. These increased penalties combined with the concentrated efforts of police and prosecutors caused a dramatic drop in reported car thefts in King County from over 17,000 in 2005 to under 8,000 in 2008. Washington State has since dropped from 6th in the Nation in auto auto thefts to 26th in 2008.