California shoplifting suspect shocked to learn stealing is a crime: ‘Shit, new laws’

SEAL BEACH, Calif. (TNND) — A California police department released a video Sunday showing a shoplifting suspect acting surprised when she learned that petty theft is once again a felony in the Golden State.

Seal Beach police posted a video on Instagram showing a group of people allegedly stealing $648 worth of items from an Ulta Beauty store. According to police, the group stole $237 worth of additional merchandise from Kohl’s.

Police dash and body cameras then show officers arresting the suspects and taking them into custody. Two of the suspects can be heard in the back seat of a police vehicle. During this conversation, one suspect shares disturbing news with the other suspect.

“It’s a crime?” one suspect asks the other.

“Shit, new laws,” replies the other. “Stealing is a crime. And this is Orange County, son of a bitch, they don’t play.”

The suspect is referring to Proposition 36, a California ballot initiative that reversed parts of a 2014 measure that loosened penalties for certain crimes, including retail theft. Proposition 36 passed this year with 68.4% of the vote and took effect Wednesday morning.

Many businesses, from big box stores to local stores, blamed the 2014 reforms for a noticeable increase in retail theft. The outrage prompted some Democratic lawmakers, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed, to sound the alarm earlier this year.

“Our goal is not to lock people up,” said Mayor Breed The San Francisco Chronicle in February. “But when there are no real consequences for crimes committed in this city, that’s a real problem.”

California Republicans were highly critical of the reforms after they were passed in 2014. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom continued to insist that the reforms were not “the fundamental problem” that led major retailers to close stores in the state.

The passage of Proposition 36 comes at a time when Californians strongly oppose anti-crime politicians. Los Angeles voters turned away from progressive District Attorney George Gascón and elected Nathan Hochman, a moderate who promised to aggressively prosecute wrongdoers in the city.

“LA County voters rejected extreme criminal policies. I rejected this policy of ‘decarceration’. I also opposed the policy of mass incarceration and was in the middle,” Hochman told Fox News.

Alameda County, California District Attorney Pamela Price was removed from office this year. Price had come under fire for allowing the statute of limitations to expire on hundreds of misdemeanor cases in the county.

Taking tough action against crime was also a central focus of President-elect Donald Trump’s election campaign. On his way back to the White House in January 2025, he won every battleground state.

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