Liberal California mayors are backing this ballot measure that could lock up repeat retail thieves

For the first time in ten years, California voters could get the opportunity to change a controversial law aimed at criminal justice reform.

For the first time in ten years, California voters could get the opportunity to change a controversial law aimed at criminal justice reform. A new proposal, called The Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, would roll back parts of Proposition 47, approved by California voters in 2014 to reduce overcrowding in jails by reducing punishments for some crimes, like theft and drug possession. Many of the proposal’s backers are exactly who you’d expect: district attorneys, Republican lawmakers and big chain stores that have been lashing out against a Covid-era rise in shoplifting that last year subsided. But it has support from a handful of Democratic mayors, too. Although Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the proposal, arguing the system is sufficiently tough on crime. But it appears destined to be decided by voters: The proposal needs fewer than 547,000 signatures to get on California’s ballot in November, and organizers tell CNN they have 75% of the signatures needed. Currently under Prop 47, if someone steals less than $950 in merchandise, in most cases they will be charged with a misdemeanor. It’s a leniency compared to many other jurisdictions that some argue has led to skyrocketing theft in recent years. From 2019 to 2022, San Francisco saw an increase in shoplifting by 24%, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, which used data from the state’s Department of Justice to examine the problem. The situation was so dire last year at one Walgreens store in San Francisco, employees resorted to padlocking frozen foods.