Newsom Blamed for California’s Shoplifting Problem

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said Wednesday that the clerk in a Target Store had blamed him for a wave of shoplifting that has hit retailers across the state following the adoption of criminal justice reforms he supported.

He told his story as he waited for the Zoom call to start about his mental-health reforms.

Newsom told a story about observing someone steal from Target. He was surprised that the clerk didn’t pursue the thief. Then he learned that shoplifters were not stopped because the governor had lowered the threshold to punish thieves.

The clerk, who did not know the governor, protested, saying, “That is just not true.” Proposition 47, which he supported and opposed, changed the punishment for theft from a felony up to $950 to a misdemeanor.

Newsom stated that $950 was the “tenth toughest threshold” of any state. He also said that the clerk wanted to take his picture with him once she recognized him. However, he refused.

Newsom, in addition to supporting Proposition 47, has supported radical leftist prosecutors such as George Gascon. Gascon is backed by the left-wing billionaire George Soros and has refused to prosecute minor offenders. Critics say this has led to a wave of petty crimes that has swept California’s largest cities.

Newsom, despite the lack of evidence, has claimed that crime in California is at a “50-year-low”. Newsom is proposing new theft laws while ignoring non-enforcement.

Shoplifting and criminal activity in San Francisco’s once-thriving retail district has caused retailers to flee the city, where Newsom used to be the mayor. Retailers have fled the city, and those who remain are locking up everyday goods.