In California, a group of Democratic mayors and major retailers including Target and Walmart are trying to end Proposition 47 which prevents prosecutors from charging thieves with felonies, Supermarket News reports. 

The proposition passed a decade ago in California, reduces penalties for drug and property crimes in the state. It was put in place to cut incarceration rates, reduce racial disparities, and cut prison costs, among other things. 

“A small number of people brazenly commit crimes without fear of accountability,” said San Jose Mayor, Matt Mahan. “People are so trapped in addiction that they refuse services and subsist in misery in our streets.”

According to Supermarket News, the ballot measure would allow separate thefts to be added up to surpass the $950 threshold for felony charges, and it would also ramp up sentencing for people working as a group to steal goods or for taking more than $50,000 in property.

Additionally, according to the Orange County Register, Walmart has donated $1 million to the cause while Target, which has recently closed three locations in California due to theft, contributed $500,000. 

Crime rates, especially involving retailers, are on the rise.

A study by the National Retail Federation in 2023 revealed that shrink inventory rose to 1.6% of sales in 2022, a 1.4% rise from the previous year. It amounted to around $112 billion in lost merchandise, with theft accounting for two-thirds of the amount. 

The study also said two California cities — Los Angeles and San Francisco — led the list of U.S. metro areas most impacted by organized retail crime. Sacramento also landed in the top 10.