California voters on Tuesday approved A ballot measure calls for tougher penalties for retail crimes such as shoplifting and theft.
Repeat offenders can now be charged with felonies under Proposition 36, which partially repealed a 2014 law that reduced sentences for nonviolent crimes.
The measure would also impose stiffer penalties for crimes related to drugs such as the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Shoplifting in California increased in major cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco from 2021 to 2022, according to a bipartisan study. Public Policy Institute of California.
Since then, lawmakers have passed a series of bills to crack down on crime.
In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) introduced AB1960, which would introduce harsher penalties for those who commit felonies such as retail theft and damage or destroy property valued at $50,000 or more. signed.
“California already has some of the toughest retail and property crime laws in the nation, and we've strengthened them even further with our recent bill,” Newsom said after signing the bill.
“We can be tough on crime and smart on crime at the same time. We don't need to go back to the broken policies of the last century.”
