Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, shared a story of how he witnessed a shoplifting incident at a Target store and tried to talk to an employee who ended up blaming him for the crime.
Newsom told the story during a Zoom press conference on Wednesday, January 31st, about Proposition 1, a ballot measure that aims to address the mental health and homelessness crisis in the state.
He said he was at a Target store in the Sacramento area, checking out some items, when he saw a man “just walking out” of the store with a cart full of merchandise without paying.
He asked the employee who was scanning his items why they did not stop the shoplifter. The employee replied,
“We don’t stop them because of the governor. The governor lowered the threshold and there is no accountability”.
The employee was referring to Proposition 47, a 2014 ballot measure that reduced some nonviolent felonies, such as shoplifting, to misdemeanors if the value of the stolen goods was less than $950. The measure was intended to reduce prison overcrowding and redirect resources to rehabilitation and prevention programs.
However, critics have argued that the measure has led to a surge in retail theft and a lack of deterrence and prosecution.
Gavin Newsom, who was not the governor when Proposition 47 was passed, said he told the employee that California’s $950 threshold for grand theft was the 10th toughest in the nation, and that the problem was not the law, but the lack of enforcement. He also said he challenged the employee to look up the facts and not believe the “misinformation” that was being spread.
Newsom said the employee,
“then she looks at me twice and then she goes crazy, she calls everyone, she wants to take pictures,”
He refused and said he wanted to talk to the manager instead. According to him, he wasn’t trying to be rude, but wanted to have a “conversation” with the employee and the manager about the issue of retail theft and how to address it. He also said he was frustrated by the fact that he had to pay for his items, while others could just “walk the hell right out” without consequences.
The California governor said he shared the story to illustrate the need for more accountability and enforcement to prevent retail theft, which he said was hurting businesses and consumers.
