Democratic lawmakers introduce legislation to target organized retail theft, online resellers

Two top Democrats in the California Legislature on Thursday announced a multi-pronged plan to tackle the recent rash of organized thefts that has blighted the state’s national reputation and tormented retailers.

The legislative package, authored by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles), will focus on so-called organized retail theft crime rings, which are blamed for the uptick in the high-profile, smash-and-grab incidents plaguing California.

Rivas and Zbur, chair of the Select Committee on Retail Theft, said the details of the legislation will be released Friday, adding to a list of an anticipated 15 to 20 additional bills that also address retail crime.

The lawmakers said the package was inspired in part by some of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s suggestions for legislation to combat the crimes. This month, Newsom sent 120 California Highway Patrol officers to Oakland under a new state law enforcement campaign targeting a rise in violent crime and theft that has increased criticism of California’s criminal justice policies.

If passed, the bill would penalize what the lawmakers referred to as “professional retail thieves,” increasing potential prison sentences to up to three years. Under the legislation, thieves could be prosecuted for the total value of items stolen in a series of crimes, even if there were separate victims. It also would target the resale of stolen merchandise, including items sold online.

Large retailers would be required to provide theft data, likely to a state agency, although the specifics are unclear, while protecting consumer information. One major setback in resolving retail crimes has been the lack of data — largely due to underreporting from retailers that say it takes too long to file police reports.

The bill will also expand diversion programs and tools for police to make arrests based on witness statements or surveillance videos.

Recently, Mayors London Breed of San Francisco and Matt Mahan of San José endorsed a ballot measure that would reform Proposition 47, an initiative voters passed a decade ago to reduce mass incarceration by reclassifying some felony crimes, including retail theft, into misdemeanors. The proposition raised from $400 to $950 the amount for which theft can be prosecuted as a felony.

Incidents of retail crime hit the San Francisco Bay Area hard between 2020 and 2022, but the city saw those crimes dwindle last year. The first three weeks of the year witnessed property crime go down 41%.

While he was lieutenant governor, Newsom supported Proposition 47 and recently said he was opposed to asking voters to reform the measure. The governor believes the thefts can be addressed through legislation.

And Rivas and Zbur are delivering the same message.

“I’m most interested in getting it right,” Rivas said. “We know this is a problem. We don’t want to have a knee-jerk reaction and blame Prop. 47.”

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta on Friday told reporters that solutions to these thefts can be made through “more investigations and more arrests,” and not amending Prop. 47.

“We need to arrest people when they commit crimes,” he said, reiterating, “Misdemeanors are crimes. Misdemeanors are crimes.”

Bonta made the comment after announcing his office had filed criminal charges against nine people who were engaged in a multimillion-dollar organized retail theft operation across 21 counties in the state. The suspects reportedly targeted beauty retailers, notably Sephora and Ulta, for years. One woman, who is claimed to be the main suspect, is alleged to have resold up to $8 million of mostly cosmetic items on Amazon Marketplace.