Target Could Face Fines Says Report
Get ready for an intriguing and controversial story from Sacramento, California, where the city’s legal department has taken a surprising stance against a popular retail store. The City of Sacramento threatened to fine the Target store located at 2505 Riverside Blvd. in Land Park for public nuisance due to the numerous calls to police after repeated thefts.
The Sacramento Bee reported that an anonymous source revealed this threat, indicating that Sacramento officials warned they would issue an administrative fine to Target. A police spokesperson confirmed the warning’s location when asked about it. This situation has caught the attention of state lawmakers, prompting them to add an amendment to a retail theft bill to outlaw such threats against businesses from authorities.
Governor Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, and state Senator Mike McGuire are pushing a legislative package with 14 bills designed to tighten penalties on retail theft offenses. They believe this will address retail theft crimes more effectively than amending Proposition 47. Proposition 47, passed in 2014, loosened penalties for drug and theft crimes and has been blamed for the rise in theft across California.
“Your punishment for having a knife when they searched you would be very different from the thief’s. For him to have a knife was mere misbehavior, tradition, he didn’t know any better. But for you to have one was ‘terrorism.’” — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn pic.twitter.com/aFTfnBcD7J
— Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) February 1, 2024
Recently, California’s Secretary of State announced that enough signatures were gathered to place a measure to reform Proposition 47 on the November ballot. Critics argue that new legislation proposed by Democrats is a “poison pill” to discourage voters from supporting the reform, claiming it would undo efforts to combat crime.
California Assembly GOP Leader James Gallagher expressed his frustration, stating, “Newsom keeps insisting that reports of theft are dropping — well, now we know why. Not only are thieves let off without even a slap on the wrist, but now the victims are being threatened for even reporting crimes.”
Criminal defense attorney Nicole Castronovo criticized the situation, arguing that lawmakers have allowed smash-and-grab robberies to terrorize cities, causing retailers to leave major urban areas and taking jobs with them. She added, “No citizen should ever be penalized for lawfully calling upon its government for protection.”
Alexander Gammelgard, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, testified during the State Assembly’s first retail theft committee meeting, expressing surprise that anyone would attempt to penalize a business for reporting legitimate crimes.
“In the Criminal Code of 1926 there was a most stupid Article 139—‘on the limits of necessary self-defense’—according to which you had the right to unsheath your knife only after the criminal’s knife was hovering over you. And you could stab him only after he had stabbed you.”
— Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (@AI_Solzhenitsyn) January 9, 2022
Blake Randol, a criminal justice professor at California State University, Stanislaus, found the situation disconcerting, emphasizing that the city has a responsibility to help residents and respond to crime control demands. He suggested that city officials might issue warnings to make it appear that crime statistics are improving.
The Target location in question has faced criticism from the local community. Sacramento City Councilman Rick Jennings II, city police, and the city attorney’s office collaborated with Target to create a safety plan to address these concerns. The plan includes enhanced security measures such as alarms, cameras, additional security personnel, improved lighting, landscaping, and wayfinding to deter theft.
Despite the efforts to mitigate the issue, data from the police department shows a significant increase in theft, robbery, and shoplifting at Sacramento’s three Target locations in 2023. Target locations reportedly had 375 calls for service for these crimes, compared to 80 reported crimes by Sacramento police in 2023.