Both patriots and leftists know that Gavin Newsom has transferred California from a national paradise to a crime-ridden hellhole. Democrats are so aghast at the result that they’re touting Newsom as presidential timber, whether as a stand-in for Dementia Joe this November or for The Cackler in 2028. Patriots have taken a dimmer view and will think even less of Newsom’s California after some recent events in the state capital.
The Sacramento Bee reported Tuesday that “the Sacramento City Attorney’s Office warned a chain retail store that it could face a public nuisance charge due to a large number of phone calls placed to police when thieves repeatedly stole from its Land Park location.” Yes, the Attorney’s Office is not going after the thieves. It’s going after the store for reporting the thefts. This is what it means to get tough on crime in Newsom’s California.
As you might expect in light of the fact that vengeful leftist authoritarians run the once-Golden State today, this news comes from “a person with knowledge of the warning who wanted to remain anonymous out of fear they could be retaliated against.” This source said that Sacramento officials “warned they would issue an administrative fine to the Target at 2505 Riverside Boulevard in Land Park, during the past year.” Nor does this information come from a single source alone: “A police spokesperson confirmed the location to the publication after being asked about the alleged warning.”
In fact, Sacramento’s threat to the Target outlet was so egregious that even the leftist apparatchiks in the state legislature were moved to act. Fox News reported Tuesday that “after learning about the city’s warning and comparable actions across the state, state lawmakers added an amendment to a retail theft bill, outlawing these types of threats toward businesses from authorities.”
That’s good, but the core problem still remains — Proposition 47, which California’s addled voters approved in 2014. It classifies retail theft under $950 as only a misdemeanor, which in practice has meant that police often don’t respond to calls involving minor theft at all, as they have many, many more serious crimes to deal with. As a result, flash mobs engaging in smash-and-grab robberies have become common in California, and stores such as Target have no recourse. They simply have to absorb the loss.
Public dissatisfaction with this corrosive and ridiculous law has grown steadily. Los Angeles’ KTLA reported last week that a sign appeared in San Francisco in late June outside of a tony Louis Vuitton outlet: “NOTICE: Stolen goods must remain under $950.” Many apparently assumed that city authorities had placed the sign there, so KTLA felt the need to inform its readers that the sign “was not official” and had been removed, which was not surprising. Authoritarian leftists cannot stand to be mocked.
The beleaguered and dwindling band of California residents, however, can take heart: none other than Gavin Newsom is riding to their rescue. Fox News noted that the intrepid and ambitious governor, along with several of his apparatchiks, “are pushing a package with 14 bills that tighten penalties on retail theft offenses. The lawmakers believe their legislation will help deal with retail theft crimes.”
But don’t get your hopes up: they’re pushing this new package “rather than pass changes to Proposition 47,” much less repealing it altogether. Newsom’s new tough-on-crime is just cosmetic, designed to get his comrades through the election season. Then the destruction of businesses in California (for the people!) can proceed apace.
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California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher summed up the absurd situation: “Newsom keeps insisting that reports of theft are dropping – well now we know why. Not only are thieves let off without even a slap on the wrist, but now the victims are being threatened for even reporting crimes. Everyone can see that Newsom’s pro-criminal policies are a failure – no matter how much his allies try to cover it up.”
Last December, Alexander Gammelgaard, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, testified at the California State Assembly’s first-ever meeting of a new committee that was supposed to deal with retail theft. According to the Bee, he said that he was: “surprised that anyone would ever attempt to make a nuisance case out of somebody calling to report a legitimate crime. I don’t think there is a place for that.” Forget it, Chief Gammelgaard. It’s Gavin Newsom’s California.
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