Californians Together Against Retail Crime

Californians Together Against Retail Crime

SACRAMENTO: Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) stood together with her colleagues today as a comprehensive, bipartisan, balanced package of bills were presented to address the rising tide of Organized Retail Theft. The bill package consists of seven separate bills designed to address the issues faced by businesses, law enforcement, and consumers across California. Assemblymember Irwin’s AB 1779 would restore the ability for a District Attorney to file charges in a single county for offenses also committed in another, or multiple other county jurisdictions. The package also includes:

AB 2943 - Speaker Robert Rivas & Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur

AB 1802 – Assemblymember Reggie Jones Sawyer

AB 1960 – Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria

AB 1794 – Assemblymember Kevin McCarty

AB 3209 – Assemblymember Marc Berman

AB 1792 – Assemblymember Juan Alanis

“With Organized Retail Theft Rings continuing to terrorize retailers and communities, its past time we addressed this top of mind issue that drives up prices and costs consumers,” said Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin. “These highly organized criminal enterprises operate with little fear of being caught and have caused some retailers to close down stores in communities who desperately need access to groceries and other basic necessities. Restoring this common-sense statute will allow county prosecutors the ability to dismantle these theft rings with a single trial.”

Recent crimes committed by these organized groups and publicized in the media have added to the fear and frustration felt by Californians. While law enforcement has increased their efforts to combat this type of theft, this has not deterred many theft rings from operating across regions and the entire state. . The California Attorney General’s office recently announced the arrest and filing of charges against three individuals responsible for 25 commercial burglaries and attempted burglaries with losses in excess of $650,000. Providing additional tools to law enforcement and prosecutors gets us one step closer to addressing the issue of Organized Retail Theft Rings.