SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Proposition 36 goes into effect Wednesday and Sacramento County officials plan to use it to combat retail theft and fentanyl deaths.
Business owners, city officials, and law enforcement outlined how the new laws will actually make a difference at a press conference Tuesday at the Howe Bout Arden Shopping Center.
Businesses said there's hope ahead with Prop 36. That's because up until recently they believe law enforcement had their hands tied and no one would respond to their calls since the crime was considered a misdemeanor.
However, Proposition 36 allows for felony charges and increases sentences for certain drug and theft crimes.
"Proposition 36 goes into effect on December 18, 2024. We will be measured and fair, but make no mistake about it we will hold people accountable," said Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho.
Ho promises it will mark a new era for law enforcement dealing with retail theft, drug addiction, and homelessness in the county.
In November, California voters approved Prop 36 by nearly 70 percent.
One of those voters is small business owner Alan Leatherby, who owns multiple Leatherby's Family Creamery locations.
He says his store in Arden-Arcade has been hit the hardest.
"We'd have theft in our stores, regular people that would come in. You know sometimes every single day and steal from and what do you do when you call the police and they get right back out the next day," said Leatherby.
Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper says that this year they've arrested around a thousand people for retail theft and about 80 to 90 percent were given citations.
With Prop 36, he expects a change in the behavior of reoffending.
"Tt really changes the landscape cause up until now, if you stayed below $950, you got a citation and didn't go to jail," Copper said. "Now if you have two convictions, that third conviction can, it becomes a felony and really has some teeth into it."
Prop 36 also creates a new treatment-focused court process for some drug possession crimes.
And it requires courts to warn people convicted of selling or providing illegal drugs to others that they can be charged with murder if they keep doing so and someone dies.
"Right now, we're creating a working group with all the different law enforcement agencies in the county and in the region with the other DA's Office to set up protocols and procedures about how we're gonna implement Prop 36 in a fair, measurable way to hold people accountable," said Ho.
Officials are also making retail theft resources available to businesses such as sharing webinars.
There are warning signs businesses can request, which says "this is a protected business" and gives a barcode to make it easier to report a crime.
"We got a long way to go but I grew up in this neighborhood. I'm not going anywhere," Leatherby said. "Anyway, I'm excited to get these businesses back up and going. Especially I'm an advocate for the small family businesses obviously."
The District Attorney's Office now has a website set up where the public can learn more about Prop 36.
It also lists what business owners and residents need to request assistance.
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