California has been hammered over the past few years as the spike in retail theft that started in San Francisco and Los Angeles has spread across the state, prompting the creation of task forces, legislative hearings, and promises of a crackdown by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA).
California prosecutors and business leaders have blamed some of the state’s “toothless” laws for the jump in offenses, saying the problem has only gotten worse because offenders know they’ll be back on the street in hours, if not minutes.
Residents, frustrated with rising prices and lengthy wait times at stores for employees to unlock cabinets so they can purchase everyday items such as deodorant and toothpaste, have said they want to see changes made to Proposition 47, a decade-old ballot measure that classifies nonviolent property crimes that do not exceed $950 in value as misdemeanors.
The criminal penalty for nonviolent retail theft is typically up to six months of jail time, but critics claim that only a few offenders ever serve their full sentences, and many do not even show up to court. Proposition 47 also fails to target repeat offenders, critics have complained.