MAJOR retailers are throwing millions to change a shoplifting law after seeing an extreme increase in theft.
Walmart and Target are supporting a campaign to do away with Proposition 47 in California.
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The voter-approved law has reduced penalties for lower-level drug and property crimes, which has been blamed for a rise in retail theft throughout the state.
A new analysis of statistics from the Los Angeles Police Department showed a major increase in shoplifting in 2023.
There were an estimated 11,945 shoplifting reports in the city, an increase of 81% compared to the year before.
Prop 47 was put into law in 2014 to lower incarceration rates, address racial discrimination, and cut prison costs.
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However, critics say it’s only led to an increase in smash-and-grab robberies and open-air drug use.
Target and Walmart are the top funders of a proposed ballot measure that would allow prosecutors to charge accused thieves as felons by combining separate theft incidents to surpass the $950 threshold, reported Bloomberg.
Drug users would also be forced into treatment with the threat of jail time.
The reform would increase sentencing for people involved in organized retail crime or those who steal more than $50,000 worth of property.
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Walmart has already donated $1 million to the campaign while Target has given $500,000, reported the outlet.
Other supporters include the California District Attorneys Association and Macy’s.
The news of a possible repeal of Prop 47 comes after Target announced that it would close nine locations across four states in October.
Brian Cornell, the company’s chief executive said at the time that Target “continues to face an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime.”
Last year, Walmart closed dozens of stores, blaming poor performance and record-breaking theft.
Shoppers are feeling the effects of the crimes.
“They ruined it for everyone, and now I have to wait like 30 minutes just to get deodorant from behind the glass,” shipper Anna Favis told CBS News. “It’s just kind of a bummer.”
Small businesses are also growing worried as the outlet reached out to a custom clothier, who said he’s ready to leave Los Angeles after 28 years on Ventura Boulevard.
“We are definitely thinking to move, not because of any other reason than safety,” he said.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said his store was vandalized twice in the last month.
“I don’t know who they are and I’m a family man. I’m just scared.”
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He said it cost thousands to replace his store windows but someone just ended up breaking in again by throwing paint cans through the glass.
“It’s just the life is not the same anymore,” he said. “We are always on guard. We keep our doors locked.”
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/10376379/walmart-target-shoplifting-proposition-47-california/