SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In a continuing back and forth between Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper and the California Retailers Association, Cooper says not enough is being done to combat retail theft in the city. It’s something the retailers association says they’re working on and encourage him to help with.
Cooper has taken to social media this week to call out big businesses like Walgreens and Target and the California Retailers Association.
“You claim you have done more to combat retail theft than anyone else. The public can clearly see the problem has gotten worse, not better,” he wrote.
The National Retail Federation estimates retailers have lost $112 billion due to retail theft. What’s lost in revenue is passed onto consumers, costing an estimated $500 more a year on purchases.
It’s something law enforcement agencies and district attorneys across the state blame on Proposition 47 from 2014, an initiative aiming at tackling prison overcrowding. The initiative makes non-violent thefts a misdemeanor when the value is less than $950.
“We need voters to understand where the big problem is coming from,” said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. “When prop 47 was passed, when they in essence decriminalized shoplifting… big retailers have fought it every step of the way on getting meaningful resolutions and meaningful laws passed."
Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, says she understands the frustration about Prop 47.
“When you look at the retail piece of it, Californians have had enough. It’s polling out of this world. People are done,” she said. “I think that’s why we’re pushing so hard to try to get something on the ballot in 2024. We need people to understand it is illegal to steal from stores.”
That something for the 2024 ballot is in the works by the coalition called Californians for Safe Stores and Neighborhoods.
Michelin says she is willing to sit down and chat with the sheriff to find solutions instead of talking about each other.
“That's what Californians deserve. They don't deserve bullying from social media to try to get a point across. They need real action," she said. “We're working with the speaker's office. We're working with the governor's office. We're looking at legislation. We're looking at a ballot initiative. Retailers are looking everywhere we can to try to find solutions to this.”
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