The Sacramento, California, City Attorney’s Office has reportedly threatened to fine the popular retailer for public nuisance after multiple thefts occurred at the Land Park store and numerous calls to police.
The Sacramento Bee reported that a person with knowledge of the warnings, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, warned that Sacramento officials had been levying administrative fines on the Target at 2505 Riverside Boulevard in Land Park for the past year.
A police spokesperson confirmed the location to this publication after being asked about the alert.
After learning of the city’s warning and similar actions across the state, state lawmakers amended a retail theft bill to make it illegal for authorities to make this type of threat to businesses.
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Sacramento City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood’s office reportedly threatened to fine a local Target store that reported the thefts, accusing them of public nuisance. (Google Maps)
Governor Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senator Mike Maguire are pushing a package of 14 bills that would increase penalties for retail theft, which lawmakers believe will do more to combat retail theft crimes than passing amendments to Proposition 47.
Last month, California’s Secretary of State Announced The petitioners have gathered more than enough signatures to place a measure on the November ballot to amend Proposition 47, a voter-approved measure passed in 2014 that reduced penalties for drug and property crimes in California and is blamed for California’s epidemic property crimes.
Shortly after the bill to amend Proposition 47 was approved, Democratic-controlled Sacramento lawmakers Debating the Bill They say it will address crime in the state. Critics say the move is essentially a “poison pill” that Democrats will use to block a vote in November to amend House Bill 47, arguing that doing so would undermine crime-fighting legislation.
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Sacramento City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood’s office reportedly threatened to fine a local Target store that reported the thefts, accusing them of public nuisance. (City of Sacramento website)
“Governor Newsom keeps saying property reporting is down, and now we know why. Not only are thieves getting away with it, but victims are being threatened for simply reporting their crimes,” California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher told Fox News Digital. “We all know Governor Newsom’s pro-criminal policies are a failure, no matter how much his cronies try to cover it up.”
Criminal defense lawyer Nicole Castronova also spoke out on the matter, telling Fox News Digital that California politicians are leaving people to their own devices as “crime begets crime.”
“Lawmakers have allowed burglars to terrorize our cities, and as a result, retailers are leaving our cities in droves, taking jobs with them,” she said.
Castronova explained that unemployment is directly related to an increase in crime.
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She also said retailers were being harmed by the government’s failure to protect them.
“Now the government is trying to silence retailers so that manufacturers can lower crime rates in their place,” Castronova said. “Citizens who legitimately seek government protection should never be punished.”
Alexander Gammelgaard, president of the California Association of Police Chiefs, testified at the first meeting of the state Assembly’s Retail Theft Committee in December and said he was surprised that people would try to sue people who call to report legitimate crimes.
“I don’t think there’s any room for that,” Gammelgaard said.
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A large group of 30 to 50 people were caught on video vandalizing the Nordstrom at the Topanga Mall in Los Angeles on August 12. Authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with four of the robberies. (Courtesy of Instagram / @ella_ise24.)
It’s unclear why City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood and her office decided to issue warnings to businesses like Target and seek police cooperation. Her office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Blake Rundle, a professor of criminal justice at California State University, Stanislaus, told The Sacramento Bee that the situation in Sacramento is worrying. He told the paper that cities have a responsibility to help their residents, and that the city could discourage businesses from reporting crimes by threatening public nuisances.
Rundle also said city officials may issue warnings to make it appear crime statistics are declining.
“The issue is, what Target is complaining about is legitimate concerns about crime,” Rundle told the Sacramento Bee. “The city has a responsibility to do more to be responsive to its citizens and to address their demands for crime control.”
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Sacramento police have reportedly received numerous reports of thefts at one of the city’s Target stores, leading city officials to warn the store that they may face fines. (Sacramento Police Department)
According to local CBS reports, the location in question has come under criticism from the local community.
After viewing the report, Sacramento City Councilman Rick Jennings II, the city’s police department and the city attorney’s office planned to meet with retailers to develop safety plans to mitigate accidents, The Sacramento Bee found through a public records request.
“It would be great to go into the store and see what they actually have. [been] “We are working to address the concerns raised most recently in this week’s news,” Alex Garcia, Target’s former director of government relations, wrote in an email about the past reports. The memo was sent to Jennings’ chief of staff, Dennis Rogers.
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As a result of the collaboration, the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design program was created to address the concerns raised in the report.
According to internal communications, the plans included implementing “lighting fixtures, landscaping, wayfinding and spatial activation measures,” as well as “the placement of security measures such as alarms, cameras and guards.”
During the meeting, city officials also had the opportunity to discuss their “concerns” with Target, and Target acknowledged its “issues,” according to Jennings’ statement.
However, the concerns raised remain vague.
Fox News Digital reached out to Target and the city of Sacramento for a statement but did not immediately receive a response.
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The magazine reported that city law enforcement officials saw an increase in thefts, robberies and shoplifting at three of the city’s Target stores in 2023, according to police department data.
In 2023, Sacramento Target stores reported 375 reports of theft, robbery and shoplifting, compared to 80 theft, robbery and shoplifting crimes reported by Sacramento Police in 2023.
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
