San Francisco's downtown economy devastated by crime
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A California Bay Area county supervisor, frustrated by rising retail theft in the area, admitted that state laws were "not working" to deter criminals, as he announced a new proposal to crack down on crime.
San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa on Tuesday told reporters he would propose a task force at the next Board of Supervisors meeting to address a wave of retail theft in the county. He also wants state lawmakers to toughen laws to lower the dollar figure when shoplifting becomes a felony, NBC Bay Area reported.
"Enough is enough! All this retail theft. All this sort of crime. Enough is enough. We really need to look at state laws. What we have in place right now is not working," Canepa stated. "We can't go on like this."
The Democrat admitted he regretted supporting California's Prop 47, which voters passed in 2014. Prop 47 downgraded certain thefts and drug possession crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor if the value of the stolen goods was less than $950.
A witness captured a group of women running out of a San Francisco CVS Pharmacy with bags allegedly stuffed full of stolen items as a spree of retail thefts continue to plague the city. (KTVU)
"I had supported Proposition 47, which basically said you wouldn't prosecute —the crimes were much different at the level of up to $950. I thought it was a good idea at the time because I thought, we need to give people an opportunity, we need to give people a chance," Canepa said to CBS News Bay Area.
"I made a mistake, it was a big mistake, and you have to acknowledge your mistake," he confessed. "By doing this, what we've done is we're letting people take thousands and thousands of dollars. And why should people be subjugated?"
The local outlet reported that last weekend, four individuals, including two teens, were arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars' worth of fragrances from a cosmetic store at the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo.
Canepa blamed state laws for thwarting efforts to hold shoplifters accountable.
A large group of 30 to 50 people were caught on video ransacking a Nordstrom at Topanga Mall in Los Angeles on Aug. 12, 2023. Authorities have arrested 11 people linked to four smash-and-grab thefts. (Instagram / @ella_ise24.)
"And we hold the people who commit these crimes accountable," he said. "The only way we can do that is through adjusting state law. That’s what’s hamstringing us."
The San Mateo County supervisor told Fox News Digital that organized crime mobs had "taken advantage of Prop. 47, because they know that if they do get arrested they can simply walk out of jail the next day and only face misdemeanor charges."
Canepa urged state lawmakers to reexamine the current threshold for felony charges.
"If we don’t, then our shopping centers and retail giants such as Nordstrom face near extinction as they are continually looted by mobs of criminals and create a climate of fear for shoppers," he said.
Prop 47 was supported by then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and co-authored by then-San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon. The latter defended his support in a San Francisco Chronicle article in 2018, saying he was "proud" of the measures and argued that his state is "no longer warehousing those addicted to drugs in our jails and prisons."
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Prop 47 was supported by then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
A decade later, California finds itself mired in a situation in which crime is surging, violent criminals are released from prison early, and videos have gone viral on social media of looters brazenly walking out of stores with merchandise, leading to some prominent retail locations to close their doors.
The National Retail Federation reported retail shrink across the country accounted for nearly $100 billion in losses in 2022.
Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
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