USA 2024 Elections Thread

[grarpamp]

Democrats (aka: SocComLeftists, now the lot of them) are
100% responsible for this downfall, and David Barrett voted
for them, what a shame...


California Advances Bill To Help Shoplifters Steal

https://www.theepochtimes.com/california-bill-to-stop-employees-from-confronting-shoplifters-goes-to-assembly_5323008.html
https://ctweb.capitoltrack.com/public/publish.aspx?session=23&id=9b282f03-635a-41b5-b2f3-c308cfcb76e3
https://sfstandard.com/criminal-justice/every-10-minutes-downtown-san-francisco-target-sees-10-thefts-a-day/
https://www.ktvu.com/news/new-state-bill-aims-to-prevent-workplace-violence-some-groups-dont-support-it
https://twitter.com/adamcarolla/status/1417629839809339392

Shoplifting in California may get a lot easier, after the state Senate
passed a controversial bill on May 31 that would make it illegal for
store employees to confront thieves.

SB 553, authored by Democrat Senator David Cortese (San Jose),
requires employers to maintain violent incident logs, provide active
shooter and shoplifter training, and to discard policies requiring
workers to confront suspected active shoplifters, the Epoch Times
reports.

According to Cortese, the bill is intended to "help employers keep
employees safe at work."

The bill, which passed the Senate by a vote of 29 to 8, is pending
further review by state Assembly committees.

According to the California Realtors Association (CRA), the bill will
apply to all industries - not just retail, if passed. CRA president
and CEO Rachel Michelin told Fox2/KTVU that the bill "goes way too
far."

"I think it will open the doors even wider for people to come in and
steal from our stores," she said.

    According to the CRA, most retailers already prohibit regular
employees from approaching someone who is shoplifting. These
situations are handled by employees specially trained in theft
prevention instead.

    If employees trained in theft deterrence are not allowed to do
their job per the bill, “What does that mean? We are opening up the
door to allow people to walk into stores, steal, and walk out,”
Michelin added. -Epoch Times

According to a position letter from the California Chamber of
Commerce, the bill "takes a regulation written for hospitals related
to workplace violence and applies it to all workplaces, regardless of
size of resources."

"Substantively, SB 533 does not change the realities around workplace
violence—namely, that it is a criminal matter that employers are not
well-equipped to prevent."

In recent years, shoplifting has become a serious problem, with
retailers such as Target anticipating a $1.3 billion hit due to "theft
and organized crime."

In Downtown San Francisco, Target employees told the San Francisco
Standard that they're experiencing at least 10 thefts a day.

    The Target store at 1690 Folsom St initially locked up most of its
merchandise to deter shoplifting, but quickly changed to only locking
up more valuable goods.

    As shoplifting plagues the San Francisco Bay Area, confronting
thieves could be dangerous, even for trained professionals.

    Whether to confront or not confront shoplifters has become a hot
topic, especially after a security guard shot and killed a suspected
shoplifter at a Walgreens store in downtown San Francisco.

    San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins decided not to
charge the guard, Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, after reviewing the
surveillance video and Anthony’s testimony. -Epoch Times

It's unclear whether SB 553 applies to security guards.

Meanwhile, in 2014 California voters passed Prop 47, which downgraded
certain thefts and drug offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. Its
most well-known statute raised the minimum amount of stolen goods from
$400 to $950 for a theft case to be classified as a felony, which
critics consider to be the main cause of a rise in petty theft across
the state.

It also allowed felons serving prison terms to petition for
resentencing under the new classifications. Those who have already
served their terms can also have their past convictions reclassified
as misdemeanors.

    Thanks to Prop 47 thefts under $950 will not be prosecuted, so
cops will not bother showing up. Just a reminder that you get what you
voted for, California! pic.twitter.com/jWUPdJzy0A
    — Adam Carolla (@adamcarolla) July 20, 2021

As the Times notes, weeks before the fatal Walgreens shooting, a
26-year-old Home Depot employee, Blake Mohs, was shot and killed
attempting to stop an active robbery at a store in Pleasanton when he
grabbed a DeWalt box out of the hands of the suspected shooter,
Benicia Knapps. Knapps reportedly grabbed the box again after shooting
Mohs, and got into a car driven by her boyfriend, David Guillory. She
was later apprehended by Alameda Country Sheriff's Deputies following
a pursuit.

Apparently the answer to incidents such as the above is to allow
shoplifters to simply walk out without confrontation.