The hurricane of crime that has swept into our communities is not an accident. The current mess, created by law to allow free theft, without consequence, was cleverly presented to the voters.
Face it. We were duped!
Titled “Safe Schools and Neighborhoods Act” — (Prop. 47) —all of us liked the title and voted for it. Buried in the body of this document was the creation of a new law that made theft “legal” up to $950. It also eliminated incarceration and bail.
We have been paying the price for this outrageous con job now for years. The only folks who like this law are the crooks, who now own items and property that once belonged to you.
While government conveniently blames inflation for higher prices, this legislation allowing no consequence for theft has created a tsunami of retail theft unprecedented in California.
That has added a not-so-invisible tax for every shopper.
You and I are paying for the free theft by thieves with higher prices.
Folks, we have been suckered!
This is not a “help the helpless” plan to benefit the underserved. It is a “help yourself without consequences,” and don’t bother with the police and law enforcement.
Politicians go off to Sacramento and busy themselves with passing out the pork to their supporters and donors.
On average, our California politicians pass nine hundred to a thousand bills every session. Can you guess how many bills were presented in the past eight years to right this wrong?
If you guessed “zero” you would be correct!
On your list of New Year’s resolutions, take time to write your State Senator and Assemblyperson and simply say you “have had enough of the theft, the recycled crooks, the lack of penalties that entice even good people to be bad.”
Our representatives don’t have to rewrite the entire contents of Prop. 47, just the section that eliminates bail and allows for free theft up to $950.
There is no such thing as free theft. It is costing all of us.
Don’t rest until you have written your letter.
We are the people. These representatives are people who work for us and if they don’t, we should vote them out, send them home and replace them with legislators that listen and have the backbone to do what is right.
View Comments (6)
This is crazy.. Just steal what you want and no repercussions!! This must STOP.. We are paying the price as retailers must recoup the losses. Write your reps today!!
This is crazy.. Just steal what you want and no repercussions!! This must STOP.. We are paying the price as retailers must recoup the losses. Write your reps today!! This is not working!!
This is just wrong. If someone takes something under $950 (shoplifting or petty theft) it is classified as a misdemeanor and punishable by up to 6 months in county jail. Seems appropriate to me.
When was the last time you personally know of ANY incarceration for a petty crime?
Barber is right. It's past time to deal with this infringement on all of us.
Petty crooks are back on the street before arresting officers complete their reports.
Many of these same offenders are arrested and released multiple times with no consequences.
This is not law enforcement, it is the endorsement of illegal acts against residents who pay huge taxes to support police payrolls.
So residents bare the burden of paying for police and paying higher prices for merchandise in the very stores being ripped off.
My point was that the statement "allows for free theft up to $950." is demonstrably untrue. If he stated that the prosecutors were not taking these cases forward or that the police weren't making arrests (I don't know if either of those are true) then I could understand his argument. Or if he said 6 months is too light of a sentence for deterrence then I could understand. This opinion flat out lies and I don't think that that is good for public discourse.
Miles Barber, have you no shame? There is no free theft going on. I imagine you live in the same reality and actually know better, but are yourself playing politics here by pushing this NONSENSICAL NARRATIVE. Changing some crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor is not just letting people steal without consequence.
The US prison system is absolutely atrocious in so many ways. Our recidivism rates and the amount of profiteering and human abuse that goes on within it is absolutely disgusting and needs reform. Many other developed countries have far superior systems with much better results for their societies.
Stop with the hyperbole, overexaggerations, and misinformation. People like you who do this are a much worse problem in our society these day.