Walmart backs shoplifter crackdown

Walmart Inc. and rival big-box retailer Target Corp. are aggressively supporting a California measure that would clear the way for more stringent penalties for shoplifters.

Walmart is the top backer of a proposed ballot measure that would overturn Proposition 47, a law passed by California voters in 2014 that reduced penalties for many lower-level crimes.

So far, the Bentonvillebased retailer has donated $1 million tosupport the new ballot initiative and Target has contributed $500,000, according to Bloomberg News.

The ballot measure is called the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, Retail Theft Reduction Act. San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, endorsed the tough-on-crime ballot initiative last week.

Californians supporting the act said on Feb. 2 that they’ve collected more than 300,000 signatures to get the measure on the November ballot.

While a Walmart spokesman on Tuesday didn’t address how much, if any, monetary support the company has given the measure, he did offer this statement:

“Walmart supports policies intended to improve safety for the communities, customers and associates we serve,” he said.

The act “is a balanced approach, providing the tools needed to hold those individuals responsible for repeated organized retail crimes accountable,” he said.

Minneapolis, Minn.,-based Target didn’t immediately return voice and email messages on Tuesday seeking comment.

A National Retail Federation study last year found that retailers nationwide are experiencing a dramatic jump in financial losses associated with theft. Loss of merchandise attributed to theft or other causes is known in the industry as shrink.

Taken as a percentage of total retail sales in 2022, shrink accounted for $112 billion in losses, up from $94 billion in 2021, according to the industry trade group’s 2023 National Retail Security Survey released in September.

“Retailers are seeing unprecedented level of theft

coupled with rampant crime in their stores, and the situation is only becoming more dire,” said David Johnston, the foundation’s vice president for asset protection and retail operations.

“Far beyond the financial impact of these crimes, the violence and concerns over safety continue to be the priority for all retailers, regardless of size or category,” Johnston said in a federation blog post.

According to the San Diego County public defender’s website, theft offenses may be reclassified from felony to misdemeanor charges under Proposition 47 if the items taken or intended to be taken amount to $950 or less.

A court must approve a petition for a felony to be reclassified as a misdemeanor under Proposition 47.

Shares of Walmart fell $1.16, or less than 1%, to close Tuesday at $169.14. Target shares fell $3.29, or 2.2%, to close at $146.11.