Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a stack of bills Aug. 16 aimed at curtailing organized retail, property and auto theft in California.
Newsom appeared at a Home Depot in San Jose with state, business and law enforcement officials, signing 10 bills that he said go “to the heart of the issue, and does it in a thoughtful and judicious way.”
Newsom said, “This is the real deal. Grocers and the retailers understand that.”
Among the new laws are those closing a legal loophole to streamline prosecuting auto thefts, one requiring online marketplaces to collect bank accounts and tax identification numbers from high-volume sellers, and one allowing retailers to obtain restraining orders against convicted shoplifters.
The new laws will target organized crime rings and allow prosecutors to add up the value of stolen goods in different locations to make it easier to meet the threshold for felony grand theft.
The laws also mean to bolster existing laws to ensure police can arrest retail theft suspects with probable cause, even if they didn’t witness a crime in progress.
“In recent years, the Bay Area has experienced the largest increase in shoplifting rates in California,” said Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, who introduced Assembly Bill 3209, the restraining order bill. “San Mateo County, which is one of the counties that I represent, saw shoplifting rates increase 53% between 2019 and 2022. But this isn’t just happening in the Bay Area. The rise in retail theft and crime is a growing issue throughout California.”
“Theft not only hurts our businesses, it hurts our communities too,” Berman said. “No one should feel unsafe buying eggs at the grocery store.”
Also appearing at the news conference were California Attorney General Rob Bonta, state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, state Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley.
Skinner, who wrote Senate Bill 1144 targeting online marketplaces, said the bills aren’t just about shoplifting.
“What we’re talking about is well organized large operations, not petty thieves,” Skinner said. “In the state Senate we know that retail organized retail theft affects every community in California and every kind of business operations.”
The new legislation will also allow specific prosecution of thieves who assault store employees and vandalize store property during retail thefts. There will be specific penalties for those setting fires to act as distractions while they make off with goods.
In February, a man lit paper products on fire at Target in Vallejo, causing the store to evacuate and some customers to be treated for smoke inhalation. The fire caused an estimated $3 million in damage and closed the store for weeks.
The bills Newsom signed Aug.16 target many of the same crimes as Proposition 36, which is on the November ballot and would increase penalties for certain theft and drug offenses. Newsom and many Democrats in the Legislature oppose Prop. 36, saying it repeats past failed policies that didn’t improve public safety and packed overcrowded prisons with non-violent offenders.
Newsom said, despite what many say, the retail theft crisis isn’t unique to California.
“What is unique here, I think, is the approach we’re taking to get serious about these issues,” Newsom said.
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