Rising theft sweeping through the Democrat-run state of California has liberals admitting their progressive crime bills are not working and making matters worse.
San Mateo County supervisor David Canepa has had it with his city's lax crime bills, allowing criminals to walk away from the multi-billion dollar nationwide retail theft problem without being held accountable.
Discouraged, Canepa told reporters on Tuesday that they were proposing a new tax force at the next Board of Supervisors meeting to combat the issue that has left business owners with no choice but to shut their doors.
Initially considering a retail theft hotline, he decided to scratch that idea.
"Enough is enough! All this retail theft. All this sort of crime. Enough is enough," Canepa said. "We really need to look at state laws. What we have in place right now is not working. We can't go on like this."
Videos have swept social media showing bold, violent shoplifters looting and destroying often high-end stores, stealing items worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The problem has cost the nation $30 billion, all thanks to soft-on-crime leaders.
Canepa admitted he regrets supporting California's Prop 47, which passed in 2014. The bill downgraded thefts and drug possession crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor if the value of the stolen goods was less than $950.
The Californian said he initially supported Prop 47 because he thought it was a good idea at the time, adding that he believed the state needed to give people an opportunity to have a second chance. However, he admitted his thinking was wrong.
"I made a mistake; it was a big mistake, and you have to acknowledge your mistake," Canepa confessed. "By doing this, what we've done is we're letting people take thousands and thousands of dollars. And why should people be subjugated?"
Canepa acknowledged that the only way to combat the problem is to hold criminals responsible by adjusting state law.
Bay Area shoplifting numbers increased from 2021 to 2022, and in San Mateo County, the 2022 shoplifting numbers skyrocketed by 60 percent.
According to the National Retail Federation, retail theft accounted for nearly $100 billion in losses in 2022 nationwide.
Whatever we're doing now to combat the epidemic of organized retail theft is not working. $30 billion lost to national retail theft is an absolute outrage! The fear of organized retail theft is driving people away from our beloved shopping centers. pic.twitter.com/XFVgQdcdTs
— David Canepa (@davidcanepa) August 30, 2023