Newsom Signs Bill to Increase Penalties for ‘Smash-and-Grab’ Retail Thefts

Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a package of 10 retail theft bills at a Home Depot in San Jose, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2024. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Sept. 12 that will increase sentencing guidelines for those convicted of stealing or damaging property with high values.

Assembly Bill 1960—introduced by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to strengthen penalties for organized retail theft and large-scale felonious acts—instructs courts, until Jan. 1, 2030, to impose longer sentences on a tiered system, with those responsible for stealing or damaging $50,000, $200,000, $1 million, or $3 million worth of property facing additional prison terms of one, two, three, or four years, respectively.

Aggregation of damage and theft values from multiple occurrences is allowed, and the 2030 sunset date could be extended by the Legislature in the future.

“Violent ‘sledgehammer crimes’ and flash-mob attacks by organized gangs must stop now,” Rivas said in a statement issued by Newsom’s office on Sept. 12.

“I authored this new law to hold appropriately responsible those who damage stores and property, because our business owners and workers should not have to live in fear that these crimes will come to their doorstep.”

Videos of “smash-and-grab” thefts—where criminals destroy property and steal as much as possible in a short time frame to overwhelm retailers’ security personnel—have attracted attention on social media, and lawmakers passed the legislation with a goal of curbing the behavior.

One representative for the state’s retail industry expects the new law to prove beneficial.

“It sends a clear message that such illicit and dangerous activities will not be tolerated, thereby helping to protect businesses, consumers, and communities from the adverse effects of criminal behavior,” Rachel Michelin, president and CEO of the California Retailers Association, said in a statement.

“Those who deliberately target and destroy property in the commission of felonies will now face harsher penalties sending a clear message that this behavior will no longer be tolerated in California.”

A law enforcement official also voiced his support for the new law.

“We are sending a strong message to criminals that preying on other people’s possessions will not be tolerated,“ Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna said in a statement. ”This piece of legislation is vital in ensuring that those who continue to undermine our community’s well-being face appropriate consequences, ultimately creating a safer environment for all.”

Opponents—including the American Civil Liberties Union California Action, California Public Defenders Association, and Californians United for A Responsible Budget, among others—lobbied lawmakers to reject the bill during committee hearings earlier this year.

“AB 1960 would do nothing to assist victims but would serve to increase the time that a person would be incarcerated for a property offense,” the public defenders group said in legislative analyses. “Sentencing enhancements are a major expensive policy failure. They do not address violence in any demonstrable way.”

The group brought attention to fiscal analyses from the Senate Appropriations Committee that show that AB 1960 could increase incarceration costs by millions of dollars annually, depending on the number of enhancements and the length of sentences imposed.

They also argued that the law would disproportionately affect certain groups.

“Enhancements are ... one of the drivers of mass incarceration, a systematic means of economically and politically disenfranchising black, Latinx and indigenous families and communities,” the group stated. “Mass incarceration is a human rights and economic disaster for all California families depriving communities of health care, substance abuse treatment, housing and education.”

Assembly Speaker Assemblyman Robert Rivas speaks with reporters early in the early morning hours on Sept. 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., after the 2023–24 legislative session ended. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times

AB 1960 is the final bill to be signed by the governor in the legislative package of retail theft bills introduced earlier this year focusing on organized retail theft crimes, increasing penalties for stealing, possessing, and selling stolen goods, facilitating prosecution of auto burglary suspects, among other things.

The governor said the new laws will help improve public safety and protect businesses and communities across the state.

“California already has some of the strictest retail and property crime laws in the nation—and we have made them even stronger with our recent legislation,” Newsom said in the statement.

Rachel Michelin, president and CEO of the California Retailers Association, speaks at Gov. Gavin Newsom's retail theft bill signing press conference at Home Depot in San Jose, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2024. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times

He said lawmakers balanced a need to hold criminals accountable while also not filling prisons with low-level offenders.

“We can be tough on crime while also being smart on crime—we don’t need to go back to broken policies of the last century,” Newsom said.

“Mass incarceration has been proven ineffective and is not the answer—we need true accountability and strategies that enhance our nation-leading efforts to address crime.”

The new law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.