Bill bad for victims of strong-arm robberies

California Senate Bill 82 benefits strong-arm robbery perpetrators and neglects violent crime victims.

California’s robbery statute has been effective since 1872. Robbery differs from theft as it is both a violent crime utilizing force or fear and a property crime, namely, the taking of property from the person of another. Robbery is particularly fear-inspiring, as it generally involves an unprovoked surprise attack by a perpetrator upon an unsuspecting innocent victim.

SB 82, authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner (East Bay), would essentially eliminate the felony crime of strong-arm robbery and treat it as a misdemeanor — common petty theft.

SB 82 would create the new misdemeanor crime of petty theft in the first degree, which would be defined as taking the property from the person of another, or from a commercial establishment, by means of force or fear without the use of a deadly weapon or causing great bodily injury. The great bodily injury exclusion creates a high legal standard. Thus, most strong-arm street robberies, without great bodily injury, would be treated as common thefts in our justice system.

Recently, local media reports have provided numerous videos of senior citizens who were strong-arm robbery victims. Under SB 82, almost all of these violent robberies would be treated as low level misdemeanors.

This bill trivializes and makes a mockery of strongarm robbery law. While it benefits the strong-arm robbery perpetrator, it neglects the violent crime victim.

The psychological and social impact on strong-arm robbery victims and their loved ones lasts long after the violent encounter.

I urge you to contact your California state senator and Assembly member on this illconceived proposal. Strongarm robbery is a violent crime and it should continue to be treated as a violent crime. Crime victims’ rights matter.

— Michael Paganini,

San Rafael