Frustrated with a lack of legal options available when detaining criminals caught stealing, Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper blamed state laws for contributing to retail theft crimes during a press conference Dec. 5—saying California voters need to fix the problem if given the chance on the ballot in November 2024.
At issue is Proposition 47, an initiative also known as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act—passed by voters in 2014 changing some theft and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.
“The voters were duped into something that has nothing to do with safe neighborhoods and schools,” Mr. Cooper said during the press conference.
One lawmaker agreed that the change to state law, including removing the ability to charge repeat offenders with stronger penalties and raising the felony threshold to $950 for stolen property, has jeopardized public safety.
“There’s no doubt that broadly there is a perception that crime has increased, and Proposition 47 has most definitely had a direct impact on this,” Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) told The Epoch Times Dec. 5. “Whenever you reduce the consequences for an action, it seems logical that you’re going to see an increase in the frequency of that action.”
Since the change was enacted by a voter initiative, the Legislature is restricted from circumventing or overruling the law, though lawmakers could introduce a ballot measure that would put the matter to voters—something the state senator said would be beneficial to the public.
“The Legislature could put something on the ballot that would be much less expensive than a citizen initiative,” he said. “I’m not optimistic that’s going to happen, but I always have hope.”
Some retailers are considering proposing a ballot initiative, according to the sheriff—who said the effort would cost about $12 million.
“They need to do it for their employees’ and their customers’ safety,” Sheriff Cooper said.
With the holiday season in full swing and retail theft crimes impacting the area, the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department recently conducted a week-long investigation, dubbed Operation Bad Elf, that resulted in 285 arrests, the sheriff announced during the press conference.
He decried that 233 of those arrested received misdemeanor citations—saying that many criminals in the area ignore such tickets, with approximately 33,000 currently outstanding in the county.
“That really means nothing because they’re not going to show up,” Mr. Cooper said. “We don’t book people in for misdemeanor citations, so this just adds to the total.”
Prop 47 prevented many from being taken to jail because of the high dollar amount required to equal a felony and the inability to aggregate repeat offenses, the sheriff declared.
Describing the makeup of those detained in the operation, he said about half had prior drug arrests, only four were associated with organized retail theft crimes, and the majority had home addresses.
“Most of these people are not homeless,” the sheriff said. “Because they know there’s no penalty and no accountability, the majority of these folks just come in and steal because they know they’re not going to jail.”
Detectives operated in 12 retail establishments, including Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Ulta Beauty. The latter’s corporate offices refused to cooperate with the plan, according to the sheriff, who said that some retailers don’t want someone arrested in their store and are underreporting such crimes or not reporting them at all.
“Ulta’s corporate told us, ‘No, you can’t operate in our stores,’” Mr. Cooper said. “We went anyways.”
Several arrests were made in the cosmetics store, and across the operation six arrests were made every hour—with the sheriff describing scenes where entire carts of merchandise were stolen from self-checkout kiosks and large home appliances were shuttled out of emergency, side doors.
“It’s gotten so bad. It’s so brazen. They just don’t care,” Mr. Cooper said. “This is a safety issue for residents. This is a quality-of-life issue.”
Videos circulating on social media show widespread theft at stores across the Golden State. California retailers lost nearly $9 billion to retail theft in 2022, according to the National Retail Federation.
Many stores are adapting to the increased risk by locking items like detergent and other household items behind plexiglass, with others closing locations in response to high theft rates, both issues the sheriff noted as negative consequences resulting from Prop 47.
“We need to change the narrative,” the sheriff said.
