Democrats wade into retail theft politics in new Assembly select committee

California Democrats are taking on statewide retail theft, creating a dilemma for a party constantly facing “soft on crime” criticisms: how to tackle an issue of public concern without undoing criminal justice reforms.

The Assembly Select Committee on Retail Theft met for the first time on Tuesday in Sacramento, just weeks before the full Legislature returns Jan. 3.

The committee's goal is to identify legislation to deal with shoplifting, commercial burglary and robberies. Organized retail theft and “smash-and-grab” incidents have garnered significant public attention amid a barrage of viral security videos showing brazen crimes play out at big-box retailers and small businesses alike.

It's clear Democrats face pressure to deal with retail theft, which Assembly

Speaker Robert Rivas, DHollister, underscored by attending part of the meeting.

But the 11-member panel — nine of whom are Democrats — face a trapeze routine between cracking down on crime and satisfying the party's progressive flank, which is committed to preventing a return to the punitive sentencing laws of decades past.

The committee heard from policy analysts, retail industry group leaders, law enforcement and criminal justice reform advocates. They painted a nuanced picture of retail theft that only raised more questions.

Magnus Lofstrom of the Public Policy Institute of California shared the organization's analysis of 2022 data of shoplifting, commercial burglaries and robberies. PPIC reported shoplifting rates were lower last year than they were in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. But commercial burglary and robbery rates increased.

Retail theft rates also varied by county, with the Bay Area seeing the largest uptick in shoplifting from 2019 to 2022. Commercial burglary increased in many of the state's largest counties but was down in smaller ones.

Lofstrom told lawmakers that the data is likely more accurate for serious crimes than lesser offenses.

“The data are limited to incidents reported to law enforcement agencies,” he said. “Retail theft is likely underreported.”

Retailer leaders said they are forced to lock up products and hire extra security to protect customers and employees, in part because of statewide inconsistencies in law enforcement responses to thefts.

Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, said stores are “not exaggerating the problem of retail theft.” Michelin made her statement just weeks after the National Retail Federation backed off a claim that nearly half of all 2021 inventory losses came from organized retail theft.

Lawmakers seemed interested in retailers' concerns, but they were also frustrated by a lack of reliable data on the problems they discussed.

“I think that in order for us to actually craft the right policy, it's so, so important for us to understand, where is this a California problem?” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine. “And where is this a nationwide problem?”

When asked directly for data on California retail theft, Jeff Kreshek of property developer Federal Realty said retailers are reluctant to provide it.

“I wish I could give you the data,” Kreshek said. “In preparing to come here today, I talked to 15 retailers and said, `I need data. I need numbers.' And they said, `Oh, we can't give you numbers.' And notice I didn't ... use any retailers' names. They don't want that in the public for whatever reason.”

The politics of addressing retail theft flared during the nascent public discussions about potential solutions.

Proposition 47 dominated the discussion. The 2014 ballot initiative reclassified certain nonviolent crimes as misdemeanors, including commercial thefts of items under $950.

The measure was one of several that voters and lawmakers leaned on after a panel of federal judges in 2009 ordered California to reduce severe prison overcrowding. This prompted a series of new laws undoing tough-on-crime sentencing from the 1980s and 1990s, many resulting in ballooning incarceration of Black and brown Californians.

Republicans and moderate Democrats have recently been pushing for changes to Prop. 47, saying it's not doing enough to prevent crime, especially retail theft.

“I swear that people in my district, the one (law) they know the number of is Prop. 47,” said Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Santa Clarita. “But I find that there's a lot of misinformation around this in the narrative in the community.”

As Schiavo and others pointed out, under-$950 thefts are still punishable by up to six months in jail.

But Michelin suggested changes similar to those in a ballot initiative her organization supports. It would make theft with two or more convictions a felony and make a fourth conviction eligible for prison time. The proposed initiative would also allow aggregation of multiple thefts by one person, making it easier to surpass the $950 threshold.

The shift would require changes to Proposition 47, necessitating approval by voters.