CA Senate Republicans Push Support For Strengthened Law Enforcement Presence

California Senate Republicans announced that they remained recommitted to increasing law enforcement presence in California amidst a growing number of major crimes, while also pointing out flaws in Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent attempts to combat crime.

In recent months, a growing number of high-profile crimes have struck California – a recent string of flash mob robberies at luxury stores in the LA area that resulted in hundreds of thousands dollars of merchandise being stolen. While Los Angeles has stepped up police presence at retail areas and set up a task force on the problem, Governor Newsom announced that he would be tripling its California Highway Patrol (CHP)resources in Los Angeles to help crack down on the issue.

“The state is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to crack down on organized crime and when our local partners need further assistance, we’re ready with a helping hand,” Newsom said in a statement. “The CHP is the proven leader in tackling organized retail theft and through this expanded partnership the agency will further assist the city in doing its job to keep Angelenos and their businesses safe.”

CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee added that “Law enforcement is all about partnership – and the CHP is proud to be a good partner to Los Angeles. Working together, and by utilizing the CHP’s wide breadth of expertise and resources, we will crack down on this uptick in dangerous and unacceptable criminal activity.”

However, Newsom’s huge increase of CHP resources was widely criticized on Thursday including some pointing out that because of many current vacancies in the CHP, the increased presence would put a strain on the Highway Patrol as a consequence of the state not giving any additional resources to them. Others said that the state’s lax laws on reducing penalties to retail criminals, few to no prison terms for retail robberies, and early releases for those with sentences severely undercut what the Governor was attempting to do. In addition, it was also mentioned that the lack of arrests from similar flash mob robberies in the Bay Area two years ago showed how the Governor’s response would likely not accomplish much.

The criticism was led by Senate Republicans and Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego), who  have been rallying against weak criminal penalties in the state for year.

CRIMEafornia

“Welcome to ‘CRIMEafornia,'” said Senator Jones. “The crisis we are experiencing is unfortunately a result of decades-long policies implemented by Democrat lawmakers that prioritize coddling criminals over protecting communities. While it’s welcome news that the state is investing more resources to combat skyrocketing thefts, it shouldn’t be happening in the first place. The governor is treating the symptoms, not the causes, including little-to-no penalties, early release, lenient or non-existent prison terms, and weak leadership from most of California’s Democrat politicians over the last two decades.”

A press release from Senate Republicans added “A recent “flash mob” robbery at a mall in Canoga Park included 30 suspects who raided a Nordstrom that resulted in $300,000 worth of merchandise being stolen. Just days earlier, at least 30 suspects stole $300,000 of merchandise from the Yves Saint Laurent store in Glendale.

“To protect residents and businesses trying to survive, earlier this year Senator Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) introduced Senate Bill 316. The measure would have increased penalties for petty theft if the offender had previously been convicted of three theft-related crimes including theft, vehicle theft, shoplifting, elder financial abuse, and robbery. SB 316 was killed by the majority party members of the California Senate Public Safety Committee.”

Senator Niello added, “Until we strengthen laws that will result in lawbreakers facing real consequences, Californians are going to continue to see horrible scenes of store lootings occur. My bill would address this growing crisis and I was very disappointed when it was killed in the Senate Public Safety Committee.”

Locally, many store owners in LA are welcoming the increased presence by the CHP. However, many echoed what was pointed out by Jones about the lack of prosecution encouraging criminals to pull off such robberies.

“We are always going to welcome more police passing by,” said fashion store owner Gabe Lopez to the Globe. “But what we really want are people who steal to go behind bars. We want these criminals to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, not be back out on the street as soon as possible. That’s what is causing these robberies, and they aren’t going after the cause. You know, we pay taxes and expect to be properly protected, but it just isn’t happening. You can’t blame the police for it either.”

More state and local actions on the uptick of high-profile crimes are expected to be announced in the coming days.