For many, the lead villain in the rash of
smash-and-grab thefts plaguing California is a sentencing reduction ballot measure that voters approved overwhelmingly seven years ago.
“I think it was the biggest con job in California history,” says Sacramento County Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert, a former Republican who intends to run for state attorney general next year as an independent.
“Criminals have been laughing at us. ... There’s a clear belief — and very large reality — that there’s no consequences any more to theft. ... You tell everybody we’re not going to hold anybody accountable and guess what’s going to happen?”
The measure was Proposition 47, co-authored by then-San Francisco — now Los Angeles — Dist. Atty. George Gascón and strongly supported by then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who later was elected governor. Proposition 47 was approved by a landslide vote of roughly 60% to 40%.
The measure reduced from a possible felony to a misdemeanor the possession of narcotics for personal use and certain property crimes. The narcotics piece isn’t an issue, but the sentence reduction for thefts is.
Under 47, the crimes of petty theft, receiving stolen property and writing bad checks were lowered to misdemeanors when the value was less than $950. No prison time. In some counties, maybe a short time in jail or a wrist slap.
In 2020, voters lopsidedly rejected Proposition 20, which would have tweaked 47 by lowering the felony threshold to $250 for serial thieves.
The $950 threshold is deceiving, critics say. A thief can go from store to store grabbing $900 worth of merchandise at each and it’s still a misdemeanor.
“If you steal $3,500 from five stores, it’s not a felony,” Schubert says.
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