Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen: Bringing safety back to our communities

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The recent rise in crime is hurting communities throughout California. Whether its thieves walking into stores, filling up their backpacks and strolling out or the organized smash-and-grabs at high-end retail boutiques, soft-on-crime policies have failed Californians.

Proposition 47 has played a large part in the increase in crime across California, reducing penalties for many crimes to a slap on the wrist. The ballot measure raised the threshold for the value of goods stolen to trigger a felony from $400 to $950, and reclassified some offenses as misdemeanors. Now, a majority of Californians support bringing back more serious consequences for people who break the law.

My colleagues and I have introduced the following bills to bring safety back to our communities:

  • AB 1955 (Author): Increases penalties on a person possessing fentanyl for sale or purchasing for purposes of sale.
  • AB 1599 (Co-Author): Repeals Proposition 47, putting penalties back in place for theft. This bill failed in its first committee but my colleagues and I are continuing our fight on this issue.
  • AB 1665 (Co-Author): Defines human trafficking of a minor as a serious felony and increases penalties on this crime.

Californians deserve to live in communities safe from violent crime and rampant theft. Enough is enough! It’s time to start holding criminals accountable.