Amid the rising tide of retail theft, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is on a mission to crackdown on crime by reforming Proposition 47.
Also known as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, Prop 47 (Prop 47 FAQs) is a referendum that was approved by voters in 2014. It reduced some drug and theft crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.
“If you’re going to repeatedly victimize us by stealing from our property or from our retail stores, we are going to hold you accountable,” Bianco told Fox 11 (video below). “This is common sense.”
Bianco wants to replace Prop 47 with the Homeless Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act but because Prop 47 was approved by voters ten years ago, 546,000 signatures are required to list the new proposition on the ballot.
Co-authored by Los Angeles District County Attorney George Gascón, Prop 47 downgraded the prosecution of thefts below $950 to misdemeanors. The shift is being blamed for ongoing ‘smash and grab’ burglaries at department stores by bands of thieves.
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“The biggest thing we have is drug addiction and alcohol problems and what Prop 47 did was take away the ability to get people into rehabilitation,” Bianco said. “Now, all drug crimes have been made misdemeanors and the reality of that is there is no consequence for a misdemeanor in California.”
The Democrat Mayor of San Francisco London Breed and the Democrat Mayor of San Jose Matt Mahan support the Homeless Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act.
“He’s going to have to get on board, especially with his other political aspirations,” Bianco said of Gov. Newsom. “The reality of Californians is we all know that this is a mess, everyone knows it’s a mess, including Sacramento. They’re just not quick enough to get on board because they have to admit that Prop 47 has been a failure and they’ve been touting it for years.”
With the new proposition, Bianco wants to restore felony charges, hold people accountable, and put drug and alcohol rehabilitation back on the plea bargain table as an option when a defendant is arrested.
Some 2.9 million or 9 percent of Californians aged 12 and older have a substance use disorder, according to a California Health Care Foundation study.
“The homeless issue…we need to stop calling it homeless,” Bianco said. “It really isn’t that. It’s drug and alcohol addiction that’s causing mental health issues. We don’t need to argue about which causes which. We just know that it’s factual and we can use this to address some of that.”
Public Policy Institute of California data shows that retail theft increased statewide by 16% from 2019 to 2022. But Gov. Newsom argues that law enforcement statewide has a handle on the trend.
Two weeks ago, he announced that since January, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has launched 185 investigations that have lead to 474 arrests and recovered more than 160,000 stolen goods valued at $4.2 million.
“California will continue to lead more takedowns and make more arrests to keep our communities safe,” Newsom said in a statement online. “It is through the coordinated efforts of our enforcement partners…police, sheriffs, and district attorneys…that the state can keep shutting the door on this unacceptable crime.”
Juliette Fairley covers legal topics for various publications including the Southern California Record, the Epoch Times and Pacer Monitor-News. Prior to discovering she had an ease and facility for law, Juliette lived in Orange County and Los Angeles where she pursued acting in television and film.