It’s pretty easy for the elected Democrats in the People’s Republik Of California to muddle around, since most of them are well to do and live in areas which are protected from the average criminals
California Democratic lawmakers seek ways to combat retail theft while keeping progressive policy
Facing mounting pressure to crack down on a retail theft crisis, California lawmakers are split on how best to tackle the problem that some say has caused major store closures and products like deodorants to be locked behind plexiglass.
Top Democratic leaders have already ruled out reforming progressive policies like Proposition 47, a ballot measure approved by 60% of state voters in 2014 that reduced certain theft and drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors to address overcrowding jails. But a growing number of law enforcement officials, along with Republican and moderate Democratic lawmakers, said California needs to consider all options, including rolling back the measure.
Here’s an idea: let the people vote. Have a referendum. See if they want to keep Prop 47. Obviously, loony tunes Democrats do not want that, because they’d rather pander to the moonbats who want to be soft on crime, which includes lots of rich people, rather than those citizens who have to deal with crime.
While shoplifting has been a growing problem, large-scale thefts, in which groups of individuals brazenly rush into stores and take goods in plain sight, have become a crisis in California and elsewhere in recent years. California Retailers Association said it’s challenging to quantify the issue in California because many stores don’t share their data.
Urban areas and big cities like Bay Area and Los Angeles saw a steady increase in shoplifting between 2021 and 2022, according to a study of the latest crime data by The Public Policy Institute of California. Across the state, shoplifting rates rose during the same time period but were still lower than the pre-pandemic levels in 2019, while commercial burglaries and robberies have become more prevalent in urban counties, the study says.
That’s the law of FAFO.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a champion of Proposition 47 who has repeatedly argued California already has tools to sufficiently go after criminals, rejected calls to reform the measure in January. He instead urged lawmakers to bolster existing laws and go after motor vehicle thefts and resellers of stolen merchandise. California also is spending $267 million to help dozens of local law enforcement agencies increase patrols, buy surveillance equipment and conduct other activities to crack down on retail theft.
“Not to say everything about Prop. 47 is hunky-dory and perfect,” Newsom said in January. “We want to help fix some of the ambiguities there, but we could do it without reforming or going back to the voters.”
You stupid voters won’t be allowed to have a say.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who has said he also doesn’t want to repeal Proposition 47, co-authored similar legislation taking aim at repeat thieves and online resellers. It would allow law enforcement to “stack” the value of goods stolen from different victims to impose harsher penalties and arrest people for shoplifting using video footage or witness statements. The measure also would mandate online sellers to maintain records proving the merchandise wasn’t stolen and require some retail businesses to report stolen goods data.
And you know that nothing they pass will make any difference. If they want to make a difference they need to get tough on criminals. It doesn’t have to just be hard jail. How about softer jails, literally set up like camps, which put the low level criminals to work doing things like cleaning roads, community service, painting lines, etc and so on? Corporal punishment would work (it’ll never happen, obviously.) You can’t be slightly less soft on crime and reduce crime.
You know why they’re talking about this? Election season. And once the elections are held the ideas to mildly fix crime will vanish. But, hey, you voted for this, California. Suck it up, deal with it.
Read: PRC Democrats Try To Solve Crime Without Solving Crime »