Movement to Roll Back
California’s ‘Proposition 47’
Push to Increase Penalties
Against Retail Theft
In 2014, California implemented Proposition 47, which reduced sentences for non-violent misdemeanors such as document forgery, fraud, petty theft, and drug possession in order to reduce the state’s prison population. The problem is that this effectively leaves property crimes under $950 as misdemeanors with no jail time.
Since Proposition 47 went into effect, retail stores have been plagued by shoplifting, where people steal items from the shelves and run off with them. Large retailers like Target, CVS, and Walmart reported that shoplifting increased by at least 15%, with many retailers reporting more than doubling. Shoplifting rings have sprung up and mobilizes vulnerable populations, such as the homeless, drug addicts, and undocumented immigrants, to steal goods and resell them on the street or over the internet, leading to the laughable sights of thieves carrying calculators to make sure the total value of the goods is not more than $950. Critics have consistently blamed the softening of criminal penalties by Proposition 47 for the spike in theft and burglaries as well as gang burglaries across California.

©Los Angeles Times / In August 2023, Shoplifters stole merchandise from Nordstrom in Canoga Park.

©Patch / In December 2022, a string of organized shoplifting happened simultaneously at multiple Los Angeles clothing and shoe stores.
An amendment to roll back Proposition 47 will be on the ballot in the upcoming November election. Voter signatures for the initiative aimed at reforming Proposition 47, which would make shoplifting and some drug possession felonies instead of misdemeanors and significantly increase penalties, exceeded the required number 546,000 to be placed on the ballot. If approved by voters in the November election, the measure would make theft, which is currently a misdemeanor, and even possession of some drugs, such as fentanyl, a felony.
Greg Totten, the CEO of the California District Attorneys Association and co-chair of Californians for Safer Communities, called the initiative “a battle for California’s future,” and Walmart and Target, both of which have suffered significant losses from shoplifting, have thrown their support behind the initiative, donating $1 million and $500,000, respectively, to the initiative. On the other hand, Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Democratic Party are opposing amendments to Proposition 47 and advocating for a separate bill to crack down on retail theft, making crime a major issue in the state’s election. Despite the political backdrop, when Proposition 47 is put on the ballot in November, Korean-American business owners and other community members who have been victims of burglary and theft are likely to vote in favor.
An interview with Greg Totten on the need to reform California’s Proposition 47