On August 16, 2024, Governor Newsom signed the most significant bipartisan legislation to combat property crime at Home Depot stores in San Jose, California.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom signed 10 new bills into law aimed at combating retail crime in the state.
pack, announced on fridayincluding new laws to combat shoplifting, vehicle theft, organized theft and online marketplaces where these stolen items are sometimes resold. Ahead of the new law, retailers are calling on local and federal governments to do more to combat retail theft, saying it is a growing challenge that affects profits, customers and employees.
One of the bills, SB 1416, creates tougher penalties for middlemen in organized retail crime rings, according to the office of state Sen. Josh Newman, who sponsored the bill. The bill came in response to CNBC 3 Based on a survey published in March.
The bill provides for additional jail time and fines for selling, exchanging or returning stolen property, a mainstay of retail resale criminal rings. Before the law was passed, those accused of participating in organized retail crime gangs could face up to three years in prison. Critics say sentences and penalties are not enough of a deterrent.
Newman said the law was aimed at cracking down on middlemen like Michelle Mack – the “queen” of organized retail crime who was exposed in a CNBC investigation. Police say she made millions of dollars reselling the stolen goods on Amazon for a fraction of the typical retail price. Mack was arrested in December and received a suspended sentence of five years and four months in state prison.
Mike’s husband, Kenneth, was sentenced to the same sentence and is currently incarcerated. Couple ordered to pay approximately $3 million in restitution to beauty retailer urta A court official previously told CNBC that an additional $13,000 was paid to Sephora.
Retailers blame theft and organized retail crime gangs like Mack’s California Girls for declining profits, difficulty hiring and retaining employees, and a diminished in-store experience. Others dispute the claims, saying retailers are exaggerating the impact of the thefts and downplaying operational issues behind falling profits.
According to statistics, commercial burglary and commercial robbery rates in California have been steadily increasing over the past few years. data From the Public Policy Institute of California. Shoplifting, while still well below pre-pandemic levels, is also on the rise.
Since January, the California Highway Patrol’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force has arrested 884 people and recovered more than 250,000 stolen items with a total value of more than $7.2 million, according to a news release announcing the new legislation.
Retailers have been urging Congress to crack down on organized retail crime nationwide, and the retail lobbying group the National Retail Federation is pushing to make thefts more easily prosecuted as federal felonies.
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, Democrats looking for Demonstrating a tough-on-crime stance in response to Republican criticism of rising crime rates in the country. However, critics of the crackdown on retail crime worry the measures could disproportionately harm marginalized groups.
Another bill passed in the new package of laws, SB 1144, aims to prevent the trafficking of stolen goods on online marketplaces like Amazon. bill, Introduced by State Senator Nancy Skinnerwhich builds on California’s previous law by updating compliance standards for high-volume third-party sellers and making it easier to bring civil charges against online marketplaces that sell stolen goods, among other measures.
—CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge, Scott Zamost and Courtney Reagan contributed to this report.
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