Larry Klein
Mayor
Murali Srinivasan
Vice Mayor
Russ Melton
Councilmember
Alysa Cisneros
Councilmember
Omar Din
Councilmember
Richard Mehlinger
Councilmember
Linda Sell
Councilmember
May 15, 2024
The Honorable Buffy Wicks
Chair, Appropriations Committee
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB-1794 (McCarty) Crimes: larceny – SUPPORT
(As Amended on April 11, 2024)
Dear Chair Wicks:
On behalf of the City of Sunnyvale, we strongly urge your Support of AB 1794 (McCarty) which would clarify that circumstantial evidence may be used to aggregate the value of multiple thefts into one charge. The bill would also authorize counties to operate a program to allow retailers to submit details of alleged shoplifting directly to the county district attorney through an online portal.
The annual total value of stolen goods, as reported by the Department of Justice, has nearly doubled since 2014. It has become common for offenders to try to avoid higher charges, such as grand theft, by stealing small amounts of items they know are under $950 across several retail businesses.
AB 1794 improves the ability of law enforcement to aggregate a series of smaller thefts into a higher charge. It also empowers counties to create a practical and easily accessible system for retailers to provide timely details of alleged crimes. AB 1794 will empower both law enforcement and district attorneys by providing additional tools to reduce crime and improve the safety of cities and neighborhoods.
Current City of Sunnyvale policy places a high priority on reducing crime and ensuring a safe and secure environment for people and property in the community (General Plan Goal SN-3 Safe and Secure City). Retail theft continues to be a problem in nearly all California communities, and Sunnyvale residents are concerned that the statewide rate is at its highest since 2008.
Attachment 4
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.., Sunnyvale
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Sumy-nle , CA 94088 3707
408 7JO 7473
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The Honorable Buffy Wicks, Chair, Appropriations Committee May 15, 2024
Sunnyvale believes it will take a comprehensive approach to meaningfully reduce the number of theft offenses occurring throughout the state. The City supports this bill along with AB 1990 (Carrillo) – Criminal procedure: arrests-shoplifting and AB 1972 (Alanis) – Regional Property Crimes Task Force.
For these reasons, we would appreciate your support of AB 1794. Thank you for your consideration of our position. Please do not hesitate to contact me or Chief Phan Ngo, Director of Public Safety ([email protected], 408-730-7155), if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Larry Klein
Mayor
cc: The Honorable Gavin Newsom, Governor
The Honorable Kevin McCarty, State Assembly
The Honorable Evan Low, State Assembly
The Honorable Josh Becker, State Senate
The Honorable Aisha Wahab, State Senate
City Council
Kent Steffens, City Manager
Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
Chief Phan Ngo, Director of Public Safety
Seth Miller, Peninsula Division, League of California Cities (via email:
[email protected])
League of California Cities (via email: [email protected])
Attachment 4
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