Actual Crime Policy by Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Hilton

FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting data released on Friday for 2025 shows 2024 to 2025 marked the largest year-to-year decline in violent crime rates since FBI estimations began in 1936. Yet even with this good national news, absolute crime rates remain higher in California than the national average, and especially violent crime and property crime – and many of those criminals are wearing masks.

Candidate for California Governor Steve Hilton has released his plan for tougher penalties on criminals who wear masks to hide their identities, because masks are a common tool for California criminals seeking to avoid identification.

Currently, in California, it is only a misdemeanor for anyone to wear a mask while committing a crime or public offense, or for concealment, flight, or escape after being charged, arrested, or convicted of a crime.

Criminals who wear masks or disguises while committing robberies, burglaries and other serious crimes are not doing it by accident. They are trying to conceal their identity, avoid being recognized and make it harder for police to catch them.

California law recognizes that this is wrong, but the penalty is hopelessly outdated.

Penal Code Section 185 makes it a misdemeanor to wear a mask or disguise for the purpose of evading identification while committing a crime. The law dates back to the 19th century and still refers to disguises including “false whiskers.”

That may have made sense when the law was written. It is not an adequate response to someone who deliberately masks up to commit a serious felony today.

California should treat the deliberate concealment of a criminal’s identity for what it is: an aggravating factor that makes the crime more serious and makes it harder to solve.

Steve’s Plan

Steve will work to create new sentencing enhancement for criminals who deliberately conceal their identity while committing a felony.

If prosecutors prove that someone committed or attempted to commit a felony while intentionally using a mask, hood, disguise or other facial covering to avoid identification, apprehension or prosecution, the criminal would face an additional one, two or three years in prison.

For violent and serious felonies, the additional penalty would increase to two, three or five years. This would not restrict lawful mask wearing. It would apply only when prosecutors prove that the defendant was committing a felony and deliberately concealed their identity in order to help commit the crime or escape responsibility for it.

Other states have already adopted similar laws. North Carolina, for example, increased penalties in 2024 for crimes committed while wearing a mask or disguise to conceal the offender’s identity.

California should do the same.

Someone who deliberately hides their identity while committing a serious crime has made an additional choice to evade law enforcement and avoid accountability. Our criminal law should recognize that choice and punish it accordingly.

The Bottom Line

California already has a law against concealing your identity while committing a crime. The problem is that the law is antiquated and the punishment is too weak.

Steve will update it to make sure California once again backs law enforcement and comes down hard on criminals who deliberately try to hide who they are.

If you deliberately mask up to commit a felony, you should face additional prison time. If you do it while committing a violent or serious felony, the penalty should be even tougher.