Under existing law, grand theft is the theft of anything of a value exceeding $950, with exceptions, and is punished as either a misdemeanor or a felony. Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, makes the theft of money, labor, or property petty theft, punishable as a misdemeanor, whenever the value of the property taken does not exceed $950.

This bill would make it a crime for a person to, on more than one occasion within any 180-day period, acting in concert with 2 or more other persons, receive, purchase, or possess merchandise knowing or believing it to have been stolen from a merchant’s premises, if the aggregated value of such merchandise received, purchased, or possessed over the 180-day period exceeds $1,500. The bill would make this crime punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony.

Existing law authorizes a merchant to detain a person for a reasonable time for the purpose of conducting an investigation in a reasonable manner whenever the merchant has probable cause to believe the person to be detained is attempting to unlawfully take or has unlawfully taken merchandise from the merchant’s premises. Existing law authorizes the merchant to request the person to voluntarily surrender the item. Existing law authorizes the merchant to conduct a limited and reasonable search of that merchandise pursuant to certain restrictions. Upon surrender or discovery of the item, existing law authorizes the person detained to be requested, but not to be required, to provide adequate proof of his or her true identity.

This bill would provide that no law precludes a merchant, directly or through an independent educational provider, from offering a person suspected of theft involving merchandise that is taken from the merchant’s premises an opportunity to complete a precomplaint education program in lieu of making or filing a report of theft with a law enforcement agency, from informing the person of relevant criminal and civil remedies available to the state and the merchant, or from reducing or waiving the program fee based on the person’s ability to pay.

Existing law establishes the proper jurisdictions of a criminal action for burglary, carjacking, robbery, theft, or embezzlement when property taken in one jurisdictional territory is brought into another, or when property is received in one jurisdictional territory with the knowledge that it has been stolen or embezzled and the property was stolen or embezzled in another jurisdictional territory, as any competent court within either jurisdictional territory, or any contiguous jurisdictional territory if the arrest is made within the contiguous territory, the prosecution secures on the record the defendant’s knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver of the right of vicinage, and the defendant is charged with one or more property crimes in the arresting territory.

This bill would additionally establish the jurisdiction of a criminal action for theft or other specified crimes as including the county where an offense involving the theft or receipt of the stolen merchandise occurred, the county in which any such merchandise was recovered, or the county where any act was done by the defendant in instigating, procuring, promoting, or aiding in the commission of the offense. The bill would also, if multiple offenses of theft or other specified crimes all involving the same defendant or defendants and the same merchandise or the same defendant or defendants and the scheme or substantially similar activity occur in multiple jurisdictions, establish that any of those jurisdictions is a proper jurisdiction for all of the offenses.

Existing law requires a peace officer, upon arresting a person for a misdemeanor offense, to issue him or her a notice to appear in court and to release the person, unless the individual demands to be taken before a magistrate. Existing law permits a peace officer to not release a person if, among other reasons, there were one or more outstanding arrest warrants for the person, there is reason to believe that the person would not appear at the time and place specified in the notice, or there is a reasonable likelihood that the offense or offenses would continue or resume.

This bill would permit a peace officer to not release a person if there are unresolved failures to appear in court on previous misdemeanor citations. The bill would additionally permit a peace officer to not release a person if he or she has been cited, arrested, or convicted for misdemeanor or felony theft from a store or from a vehicle 2 or more times in the last 180 days. By increasing the number of persons subject to detention at the county jail, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

Existing law authorizes a court to issue a bench warrant whenever a defendant fails to appear in court as required by law, as specified.

This bill would authorize the issuance of a bench warrant when a defendant has been cited or arrested for misdemeanor or felony theft from a store or vehicle and has failed to appear in court in connection with that charge or those charges 3 or more times in the last 6 months.

Existing law authorizes a court, with the consent of the defendant and a waiver of the defendant’s speedy trial right, to postpone prosecution of a misdemeanor and place the defendant in a pretrial diversion program or a deferred entry of judgment program under specified situations.

This bill would authorize a city or county prosecuting attorney or a county probation department to create a diversion or deferred entry of judgment program for persons who commit repeat theft offenses, as specified. Under a program, the prosecuting attorney would be required to refrain from or defer prosecution on the offense or offenses if the person completes program requirements such as community service, and makes adequate restitution or an appropriate substitute for restitution to the establishment or person from which property was stolen.

Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships in California’s adult and juvenile criminal justice system.

This bill would additionally require the board to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, award funding for a grant program to 4 or more county superior courts or county probation departments to create demonstration projects to reduce the recidivism of high-risk misdemeanor probationers through the use of risk assessments at sentencing and formal probation.

Existing law allows, after being authorized by a court and when the actual inmate count exceeds the actual bed capacity of a county or city jail, the sheriff or chief of police to accelerate the release, discharge, or expiration of sentence date of sentenced inmates up to a maximum of 30 days. Existing law requires that inmates closest to their normal release, discharge, or expiration of sentence to be given accelerated release priority.

This bill would authorize the sheriff, chief of police, or other person responsible for the county or city jail to consider the risk to public safety posed by the inmate, as specified, in determining whether to grant the inmate accelerated release.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.