By Matt Mahan and Ray Mueller
This article was originally posted the Coastside News.
The amount of retail crime in California is unacceptable – with the level of thefts nearly doubling since the passage of Proposition 47 a decade ago.
The situation has gotten so bad in so much of the Bay Area, respected San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe recently described the community as having become a “shopping mall” for thieves.
The District Attorney’s office and local law enforcement agencies are fighting back diligently – but they need smarter and stronger tools to end the epidemic of retail thefts. That’s why so many local elected officials, and non-partisan leaders statewide, are joining together in support of Proposition 36 on our statewide ballot this November. Recently former congresswoman Jackie Speier, District Attorney Wagstaffe, local mayors, and representatives from the San Mateo County Police Chiefs Association, the California Police Chiefs Association, and the San Mateo and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Offices all joined us for a press conference advocating for the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to endorse Proposition 36.
At its core, Prop. 36 will create accountability for those who repeatedly victimize and steal from our neighborhood businesses, bring back court-mandated treatment for those found guilty of multiple drug offenses, and increase consequences for those selling the fentanyl that is taking far too many lives and destroying families in our community. These common-sense reforms will save lives, save small businesses and save Californians billions of dollars each year.
Proposition 36 is essentially a “fix” for some of the unintended consequences that emerged from Proposition 47, which was passed by well-meaning California voters 10 years ago. In an attempt to end the “era of mass incarceration,” Prop. 47 lowered penalties for many crimes and made thefts under $950 misdemeanors. But district attorneys and law enforcement tell us Prop. 47 in some circumstances went too far, and took away many of the successful tools judges once used to require those found guilty of non-violent crimes to seek treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. Some of the results have been dangerous, costly, and even deadly.
Retail thefts have risen sharply here and across San Mateo County and the state. Right now someone can steal $950 every day, 365 days per year, and never face any real consequences. We all pay for this failure with higher prices at the checkout line. Retail thefts in California cost nearly $8 billion last year. That’s hundreds of dollars in product losses, paid for by higher prices at checkout, for every person in California. The impact is devastating to small business owners.
Our community also suffers a severe penalty from the inability of the courts to move individuals into mandated drug treatment. Our homelessness crisis, fueled by drug addiction, has grown nearly 60 percent in California since the passage of Proposition 47, even though the rates of homelessness have fallen in most other states. Homelessness is not a crime, but well over 50% of homeless residents have been involved in the criminal justice system. That involvement was once a chance for judges to order treatment for the drug and alcohol addictions keeping so many people on the streets.
Since the passage of Prop. 47, overdose deaths in California have skyrocketed to over 11,000 human lives lost per year and now constitute the leading cause of death for Californians ages 15 to 44. To be fair, the arrival of stronger drugs, including fentanyl, is a large part of that story – but all the more reason to restore the tools DAs and judges once had to mandate treatment for those trapped in a cycle of addiction.
Finally, opponents of Proposition 36 argue it will cost the county millions of dollars to implement. But what they won’t say is since the passage of Prop. 47, homelessness has skyrocketed and every taxpayer now bears that burden. In California, it costs over $50,000 per homeless person per year to “manage” the impacts of tent encampments – police and fire response to encampments, unnecessary emergency room visits, trash abatement and other avoidable costs. Californians are now spending billions more each year to manage a crisis we can help solve with mandatory treatment – which is at the heart of Proposition 36.
Saving lives. Saving small businesses. Saving communities. That’s what Proposition 36 is all about and we hope you will learn more, and join us, in support of this common-sense public safety measure.
Ray Mueller is a member of San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. Matt Mahan is the Mayor of San Jose and one of the co-sponsors of a non-partisan committee working to pass Proposition 36.