We have all seen the viral videos of brazen looting from stores in California.  Organized retail theft rings appear to be on the rise especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More and more Californians are worried about increasing crime.  According to a recent poll by the Institute for Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, 78% of California voters believe crime has gone up, and 59% want to see changes to Proposition 47, the statewide ballot initiative that lowered criminal penalties for retail theft and other crimes.

In 2014, California voters approved Proposition 47.  The stated purpose of the ballot initiative was to focus our state’s public safety spending on violent and serious offenses while maximizing alternatives to incarceration, such as pretrial diversion programs that provide mental health and drug treatment, for less serious crimes.

As a former prosecutor, I have seen too many criminal defendants sent to jail for crimes that were largely driven by drug addiction or mental illness.  As a Los Angeles area Democrat, I believe that we need to look beyond incarceration to address the root causes of crime.

Yet, despite our progress toward reforming the criminal justice system, we cannot ignore the reality of rising crime that is making Californians feel less safe and secure.  Ignoring this reality and failing to address the issue of crime in a meaningful way will only put California’s criminal justice reforms at risk.

That is why I am working with retailers throughout the state to introduce Assembly Bill 2390, a common sense fix to Proposition 47 that will hold repeat retail theft offenders accountable while providing mental health and addiction treatment and other pretrial diversion programs to address the root causes of crime.  For cases involving one or more acts of theft or shoplifting, this bill will allow for the value of the property or merchandise stolen to be aggregated to support a felony charge of grand theft.  The court can then determine whether pretrial diversion would be appropriate to require mental health or addiction treatment or other support services.

The problem with the current law is that a vast majority of retail theft is committed by serial offenders.  Many of these offenders know that, under Proposition 47, stealing less than $950 in a single theft is petty theft – a misdemeanor. They also know that they can commit multiple petty thefts and still only face misdemeanor charges — meaning they will be cited and released and most cases will go unresolved.  Neighborhood stores are left to wonder why they should even bother reporting incidents of retail theft if nothing will be done.

Proposition 47 promised pretrial diversion programs for offenders, but misdemeanor offenders have no incentive to participate in the absence of any serious consequence not to.  Offenders prefer to be convicted for a misdemeanor and do little to no time in jail rather than commit to a mental health or drug treatment program.  AB 2390 will make diversion programs actually work by providing the incentive necessary to participate in the program, by allowing separate instances of retail theft to be counted in aggregate toward the $950 threshold for grand theft.

In this way, AB 2390 will hold serial offenders accountable, while at the same time providing them the opportunity and incentive to address the root causes of their crimes.  Offenders who enter diversion programs can receive needed treatment for substance abuse or mental illness along with job training and other life-changing programs. In return for completing the diversion program successfully, offenders can avoid incarceration and a lifelong criminal record.

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Diversion programs work. They are proven to be more effective and cost less than incarceration. AB 2390 provides the incentive for serial offenders to take advantage of diversion programs and break the cycle of rampant retail theft. That is why numerous organizations are supporting this bill including the California Retailers Association, California Grocers Association, and the California Hotel & Lodging Association.

California should build on the progress we have made in reforming our criminal justice system. Let’s not allow inaction in response to the recent rise in retail theft become an excuse to roll back this progress.

AB 2390 is a necessary step toward addressing the rise in retail theft that will help keep our communities safe.  Californians are paying attention. It’s time for the Legislature to take action.

Al Muratsuchi represents the 66th Assembly District.