A California lawmaker wants to see tougher penalties for those who continue to steal from retail stores.
Assemblymember James Ramos (D-San Bernardino) introduced AB 1772 on Wednesday. It aims to have repeat retail theft offenders face up to three years in jail if they've already been convicted twice of certain theft crimes.
“It's time that we start to move the pendulum back to where we need to be in holding people accountable for their absence here in the state of California,” Ramos said.
LAPD Detective Michael Pineda, who works on a retail theft task force in the Rampart area, told KNX News Jon Baird he thinks a law like AB 1772 could help in the fight against retail theft.
“That would definitely help because what I'm finding is a lot of these guys that we arrest - since it's a non-violent crime - they'll get released at the jail and they'll have 20 days, 30 days to report back to the court,” he said.
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Some people, including prosecutors and business leaders, are placing the blame on Prop 47, adding that retail thieves think they can steal up to $950 worth of merchandise without getting hit with a felony.
In Los Angeles, some retailers are increasing security following a series of smash-and-grab robberies.
A store clerk in South Bay told KNX News’ Jon Baird he was shocked by the attitude of one retail thief who stole some liquor from him.
“He even said, ‘Oh, it's ok. You can take some stuff too, bro. It's ok. You don't have to,’” the clerk recalled. “He was so nonchalant man. It was really weird, man.”
If Governor Gavin Newsom approves the bill, it will be up voters to sign off on it.
KNX News gathered a panel to discuss retail theft at our town hall, “Smash & Grab: Stealing the Season.” You can watch it here.
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