This week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis blasted blue states, such as California and New York, along with other “leftist jurisdictions” for what he described as policies that enable rampant retail theft. Subsequently, DeSantis signed into law HB 549, maintaining that Florida would crack down on criminal behavior such as retail theft and porch pirates.
DeSantis criticized laws in some of the more progressive states that have seemingly decriminalized retail theft, where criminals are not held accountable for their actions. For example, the Republican governor specifically called out California for only charging thieves with misdemeanors and New York for policies that allegedly promote looting with only minor consequences.
“You look at a place like California, they passed Proposition 47 that allows people that commit retail theft to be charged with misdemeanor, even if it had traditionally been a felony. That means they get numerous retail theft offenses. Did they get held accountable? No, they get a slap on the wrist,” DeSantis stated. “You look at New York, they eliminated cash bail for many offenses, including offenses for retail theft, so that now you can only get a felony theft charge if you steal more than $1,000 worth of merchandise, anything less, you get a desk appearance ticket that has caused people to loot stores and do $999 worth of looting. And then they leave knowing that they’re not going to be held accountable.”
Gov. DeSantis further described the impact that this criminal behavior is having on law-abiding consumers who are facing higher prices from the cost of this crime. Furthermore, he claimed that essential goods, such as toothpaste, should not have to be locked behind a case to avoid retail theft.
“Now, that has an impact on you as a consumer because the prices will go up to reflect those stolen goods. That’s just basic business,” the governor added. “It also just has a demoralizing effect on people. When you go in and you want to buy toothpaste and it’s like Fort Knox because it’s all under lock and key for basic items. You got to get a clerk to come and open it and all this stuff just to do basic shopping. That is not something that is good for quality of life. And then, of course, if you can have people come in and just steal retail and walk out, that creates a contempt for the rule of law that has a spillover effect in areas far beyond retail theft.”
DeSantis continued describing the broader societal impact of this disturbing trend of criminality, where retailers are closing locations in crime-ridden locations across the country. The Florida governor emphasized the need for the rule of law and disincentivizing theft.
“Nationwide, 88% of retailers have reported that shoplifters are more aggressive and violent now compared to just a few years ago, 49%. So they have observed much more violent and aggressive behavior. Why? Because I think these people come in and they have a sense of entitlement that they can take what they want and that they’re not going to be held accountable,” DeSantis said.
He continued, stating, “And so I think the behavior has reflected that. You see stores closing down in different parts of the United States, whether that’s Target closing nine stores in Portland and Seattle, Walmart closing stores in Chicago, Nordstrom closing stores in San Francisco. That is a direct result of the lack of commitment to the rule of law and holding criminals accountable.” Watch DeSantis’ speech below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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