‘B***h, new laws!’ California shoplifting suspect surprised shoplifting is now a felony

SEAL BEACH, California – A suspected shoplifter got a big surprise when she found out that some shoplifting is now considered a felony in California.

“Is it a crime?” video shows one of the women saying.

“B*tch new laws!” the suspect next to her answers while they are handcuffed in the back of a patrol car. “Stealing is a crime and this Orange County talk. They don’t play.”

Surveillance video shared Sunday by the Seal Beach Police Department shows three women entering an Ulta Beauty store, perusing the shelves, then casually walking away with about $648 worth of stolen merchandise.

SUGGESTED: Business owners support Prop 36 during looting

Another video allegedly shows the same three women entering a Kohl’s store, where they allegedly left with about $1,000 worth of merchandise.

Bodycam video shows police officers chasing the women and eventually arresting them.

“A friendly reminder that Proposition 36, which increases the penalties for some retail theft and drug possession offenses, went into effect Wednesday morning in California,” Seal Beach PD wrote on Instagram.

“Don’t steal in Seal!”

SUGGESTED: The debate over Prop 36 in California

Why did voters back Prop. 36

Plug. 36 was a rightward swing of the political pendulum in California—a decade ago, voters eased criminal penalties for certain crimes under 2014’s Proposition 47, which was billed as both a cost-cutting measure and a more effective way to fight crime by focusing dollars on treatment instead of incarceration.

Then, during the pandemic, shoplifting and commercial burglaries skyrocketed, especially in Los Angeles, Alameda, San Mateo and Sacramento counties. Statewide reported shoplifting of merchandise valued at up to $950 increased by 28% over the past five yearsaccording to the Public Policy Institute of California. This is the highest level observed since 2000.

SUGGESTED: Explanation of California’s Prop. 36

By combining shoplifting with commercial burglaries, the institute’s researchers found that the total number of reported thefts was 18% higher than in 2019.

SUGGESTED: California Prop 36 explained: Increasing penalties for theft and drug trafficking

Advocates said the initiative is needed to close legal loopholes that have made it challenging for law enforcement to punish shoplifters and drug dealers.

Opponents, including Democratic state leaders and social justice groups, said it will disproportionately incarcerate poor people and those with drug addictions instead of targeting ringleaders who hire large groups of people to steal goods for resale online. The initiative would also eliminate funding for medicine and mental health that comes from savings from incarcerating fewer people.

Californians for Safety and Justice, a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce prison and jail costs, estimated that Plug. 36 will add 130,000 more people to California prisons each year, about 100,000 of them held in prison before trial and about 30,000 serving a year in prison after their convictions.

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