Felony theft should be $10k minimum and I would listen to an argument that it could be even higher. People who steal millions hire good lawyers and don't spend as much, if any, time in jail.

You can all guess which populations are more negatively impacted by these sorts of regressive criminal definitions.

Also, I think the term "decriminalize" is a bit unfair when we are talking about classifying a crime as a misdemeanor instead of a felony. No one is saying that we should legalize theft. All of the pearl clutching as if anyone were arguing for the Purge when all we are saying is don't send kids to prison for stealing a cell phone.

Unit2Sucks said:

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Felony theft should be $10k minimum and I would listen to an argument that it could be even higher. People who steal millions hire good lawyers and don't spend as much, if any, time in jail.

You can all guess which populations are more negatively impacted by these sorts of regressive criminal definitions.

Also, I think the term "decriminalize" is a bit unfair when we are talking about classifying a crime as a misdemeanor instead of a felony. No one is saying that we should legalize theft. All of the pearl clutching as if anyone were arguing for the Purge when all we are saying is don't send kids to prison for stealing a cell phone.

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Criminals are negatively affected when you throw them in jail for stealing less than 10k.

So, if someone steals my used car*, gets caught and ticketed and sent on their way, steals my neighbor's car, gets caught and ticketed and sent on their way, and then steals a used car in the next street over, gets caught and ticketed and sent on their way, and then this happens a dozen more times, at what point is law enforcement allowed to put them in prison, at least for the night?

*all these cars are valued at less than 10k.

oski003 said:

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Unit2Sucks said:

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Felony theft should be $10k minimum and I would listen to an argument that it could be even higher. People who steal millions hire good lawyers and don't spend as much, if any, time in jail.

You can all guess which populations are more negatively impacted by these sorts of regressive criminal definitions.

Also, I think the term "decriminalize" is a bit unfair when we are talking about classifying a crime as a misdemeanor instead of a felony. No one is saying that we should legalize theft. All of the pearl clutching as if anyone were arguing for the Purge when all we are saying is don't send kids to prison for stealing a cell phone.

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Criminals are negatively affected when you throw them in jail for stealing less than 10k.

So, if someone steals my used car*, gets caught and ticketed and sent on their way, steals my neighbor's car, gets caught and ticketed and sent on their way, and then steals a used car in the next street over, gets caught and ticketed and sent on their way, and then this happens a dozen more times, at what point is law enforcement allowed to put them in prison, at least for the night?

*all these cars are valued at less than 10k.

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Nice strawman. GTA is a wobbler and can be charged as a misdemeanor. Even if charged as a misdemeanor, the thief can get up to 1 year in prison. Misdemeanor petty theft doesn't have to mean "sent on their way".

I haven't seen the data behind when it's charged as a misdemeanor vs felony but I know a couple of rich guys who stole a car as a "prank" and didn't even get a slap on the wrist.

Our criminal justice system is complicated and no one believes it's perfect. The federal crime bill that was enacted a few years ago had broad based bipartisan support and was signed into law by Trump. How hard is it to acknowledge that California's criminal justice system could also use some updating?

Unit2Sucks said:

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oski003 said:

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Unit2Sucks said:

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Felony theft should be $10k minimum and I would listen to an argument that it could be even higher. People who steal millions hire good lawyers and don't spend as much, if any, time in jail.

You can all guess which populations are more negatively impacted by these sorts of regressive criminal definitions.

Also, I think the term "decriminalize" is a bit unfair when we are talking about classifying a crime as a misdemeanor instead of a felony. No one is saying that we should legalize theft. All of the pearl clutching as if anyone were arguing for the Purge when all we are saying is don't send kids to prison for stealing a cell phone.

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Criminals are negatively affected when you throw them in jail for stealing less than 10k.

So, if someone steals my used car*, gets caught and ticketed and sent on their way, steals my neighbor's car, gets caught and ticketed and sent on their way, and then steals a used car in the next street over, gets caught and ticketed and sent on their way, and then this happens a dozen more times, at what point is law enforcement allowed to put them in prison, at least for the night?

*all these cars are valued at less than 10k.

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Nice strawman. GTA is a wobbler and can be charged as a misdemeanor. Even if charged as a misdemeanor, the thief can get up to 1 year in prison. Misdemeanor petty theft doesn't have to mean "sent on their way".

I haven't seen the data behind when it's charged as a misdemeanor vs felony but I know a couple of rich guys who stole a car as a "prank" and didn't even get a slap on the wrist.

Our criminal justice system is complicated and no one believes it's perfect. The federal crime bill that was enacted a few years ago had broad based bipartisan support and was signed into law by Trump. How hard is it to acknowledge that California's criminal justice system could also use some updating?

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Not a strawman because I am using your proposal. Nice try turning my hypothetical into a strawman. Since you want to now return to actual existing laws, I propose all examples are not actual vehicle thefts, but laptops stolen from people's cars. When can the perpetrator actually get put in jail?

And my God, nobody said the criminal justice system doesn't need updating? How hard is it to understand that?

Misdemeanor convictions can get you up to a year in jail. You're just going to ignore that like you ignore all other inconvenient facts.

If someone is convicted of repeated misdemeanor theft, jail may be the only answer, although it's unlikely to turn the person's life around in a positive way. I would favor other forms of rehabilitation but to be clear misdemeanor are still crimes.

Unit2Sucks said:

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Misdemeanor convictions can get you up to a year in jail. You're just going to ignore that like you ignore all other inconvenient facts.

If someone is convicted of repeated misdemeanor theft, jail may be the only answer, although it's unlikely to turn the person's life around in a positive way. I would favor other forms of rehabilitation but to be clear misdemeanor are still crimes.

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Up to 6 months, not a year. In my experience, police generally don't pursue these misdemeanor offenses, especially in light of the no bail laws, because they are not often prosecuted. Police in my community have expressed concerns that they arrest someone, cannot detain them, and then they are free and often commit more crime right away. They don't feel small time thieves go to jail. By the way, I believe they just rewrote the law so that the flash mob criminals can get more than six months in jail and be charged a felony.

Unit2Sucks said:

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Misdemeanor convictions can get you up to a year in jail. You're just going to ignore that like you ignore all other inconvenient facts.

If someone is convicted of repeated misdemeanor theft, jail may be the only answer, although it's unlikely to turn the person's life around in a positive way. I would favor other forms of rehabilitation but to be clear misdemeanor are still crimes.

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This is from a town in Los Angeles county on their police department Facebook page...

"On Monday January 10th, at approximately 11:39 A.M., PD officers responded to a possible grand theft that had just occurred at Ulta Beauty. The reporting party gave officers the description of the suspects and the description of the suspect's vehicle. They also told officers that they stole multiple fragrances and other cosmetics from the store. Officers quicky found the vehicle that matched the description and safely detained the female suspects. Officers noticed unopened cosmetics on the floorboard of the car. After searching the car, officers found the fragrances that were reported stolen.

A records check revealed that one of the suspects was on felony probation for robbery and burglary. The suspect on probation also had a felony warrant for organized retail theft.

Both suspects were given a citation for theft and PD was able to return the stolen merchandise back to Ulta Beauty."

The comments on the post don't understand why repeat offenders can come into their community and get caught stealing, can't be identified, and are given a citation and let you free.

Questions:

Could the police officers have booked the suspects here? Should they have? Why did they only give a ticket and let them go free?

Could the police officers have identified the subjects? Should they have?

Is it rightful for the community to feel powerless against theft when thieves from outside the neighborhood come in and steal with seemingly little consequence?

The police have complained that they have arrested the same thieves multiple times in one weekend. Is this a training issue? A district attorney issue? Why is this happening to this community?

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