Gov. Newsom signs bill to resume harsh penalties for smash-and-grab robberies in California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday that reinstates tough criminal penalties for those who conduct large-scale theft schemes and smash-and-grab robberies that continue to frustrate voters across the state.

Under the new law, prosecutors are required to begin imposing harsher sentences on those who damage or destroy property with a value of more than $50,000 while committing a felony.

In 2018, a similar law expired, though the new law will sunset by 2030.

"California already has some of the strictest retail and property crime laws in the nation, and we have made them even stronger with our recent legislation," Newsom said in a statement. "We can be tough on crime while also being smart on crime. We don’t need to go back to broken policies of the last century."

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Newsom’s decision to bring back tough penalties comes as Democratic lawmakers try to convince voters they are tough on crime. At the same time, the same lawmakers are working to convince voters to reject a ballot measure that would bring even harsher sentences for repeat offenders on shoplifting and drug charges.

In California, shoplifting has been a growing problem, though large-scale smash-and-grab thefts have become a crisis, not just in the Golden State, but across the country.

Smash-and-grab thefts are typically done by groups who rush into stores and snatch merchandise sitting in plain sight. The crimes are oftentimes caught on video and posted to social media, bringing attention to the problem of retail theft in the state.

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Newsom’s new law is part of a bipartisan legislative package of about a dozen bills aimed at cracking down on thefts. The bills also make it easier for prosecutors to go after repeat shoplifters and auto thieves while increasing penalties for those running professional reselling schemes.

"Violent ‘sledgehammer crimes’ and flash-mob attacks by organized gangs must stop now," Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who authored the bill, said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press. "Our business owners and workers should not have to live in fear that these crimes will come to their doorstep."

The California Retailers Association also supports the measure and said the new penalties would serve as "a deterrent against ‘smash-and-grabs’ and retail crime."

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Opponents of the bill, which include public defenders and criminal justice advocates, claim the new legislation will result in more people in prison for non-retail theft crimes.

Under the bill, the opponents said, prison time would increase for a wide range of felony charges. For example, a person who damages vehicles while driving under the influence could be handed a harsher sentence under the new law.

Opponents also said the new law is modeled after a proposed tougher-on-crime ballot initiative Newsom and Democratic legislators spent months criticizing, ultimately losing efforts to keep the measure off the ballot.

"If we’re opposed to it being permanent, why aren’t we opposed to it being temporary?" Taina Vargas, executive director of Initiate Justice Action, told the wire service about the new law. "This makes it apparent that, you know, certain individuals in the Legislature and the governor just want to give off the impression of doing something."

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Newsom’s administration has spent $267 million to help dozens of local law enforcement agencies increase patrols, buy surveillance equipment and prosecute more criminals. 

Law enforcement across the state has arrested 6,900 people for retail theft crimes in the first six months of the operation, Newsom’s office said Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.