One California police department released video of two shoplifters learning about a new state law the hard way. Proposition 36 , a California ballot measure turning some shoplifting crimes into felonies, with nearly 70% of the vote in November 2024.
It reverses a 2014 measure which downgraded some shoplifting offenses to misdemeanors. Supporters pitched the move as a cost-saving measure and an opportunity to focus on treatment instead of sending people to prison.
But since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, shoplifting rates are rising in California. Statewide, the rate of theft of goods worth up to $950 went up by 28 percent over the past five years, according to research from the Public Policy Institute of California…