California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to spend $300 million starting in January as part of a new policy to aid small businesses and law enforcement affected by high-profile smash and grab thefts.
Newsom plans to add the noted amount to the existing California budget, according to the New York Post.
The spending proposal will include $255 million to implement law enforcement at stores, $18 million for a new organized “theft unit,” and $20 million for businesses affected by thefts.
“The rules are the rules, the laws are the laws, and we just want people to be held to account,” Newsom stated in the announcement of his crackdown plan Friday.
“These organized retail mobs … [have] a profound impact on our feelings of safety here in this state, this region and as I note, this country,” the California governor added.
In November, Los Angeles “flash mobs” over the course of a 10-day stint made off with $350 million in stolen items.
Despite Newsom’s efforts, some still remain skeptical of his diplomacy.
“The Democrats’ relentless push for their ‘criminals first’ agenda has turned this once-majestic state into a sanctuary for criminals,” GOP state Senate leader Scott Wilk stated following the announcement.
In 2014, in a move toward compassion to prevent low-level offenders from overcrowding California prisons, Newsom backed Proposition 47, a measure that doubled the amount a person could steal before being charged with a felony, from $450 to $950.
LAPD Det. Jamie McBride, a director of the Los Angeles, the director of a Los Angeles police union, told the Post this month, “it’s a s**t show over here.”
