Prop 36 leads to nearly 300 felony charges in Fresno County, police chief shares stern warning

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno's Police Chief is present revealing the enforcement down Proposition 36 arsenic Fresno retailers accidental it has slashed retail theft.

"We instrumentality transgression seriously, we enactment resources towards it, and we volition apprehension you," Chief Mindy Casto said.

She confirmed her section is utilizing a boots-on-the-ground approach.

"We really person a tactical squad that operates each day, during the day, for retail theft successful progress," Casto said. "The results are starting to talk for themselves, with the immense reductions we've seen successful theft."

Fresno's River Park, erstwhile a premier people for brazen thieves and high-profile smash-and-grab thefts, now reports a much than 50 percent driblet successful retail theft.

RELATED: River Park hails Prop 36 arsenic 'greatest happening that's happened'

"Victims present tin accidental that the idiosyncratic who robbed them, stole from them, vandalized their property, really person consequences," District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp told Action News.

Smittcamp supported Proposition 36, which stiffens penalties for retail theft, bringing it from a misdemeanor to a felony for thieves with astatine slightest 2 anterior convictions.

"What we're doing present is we're grooming our radical in-house to look, you know, backmost astatine priors, to look backmost to spot however galore misdemeanor convictions radical person for some theft and drugs," Smittcamp said.

In 7 months connected the books, Fresno County prosecutors person reviewed 335 cases of imaginable felony theft.

Data reviewed by Action News reveals 287 person resulted successful ceremonial charges.

"That's 287 radical that are present facing felony charges that were before, simply moving amok," Smittcamp said.

Prop 36 has agreed prosecutors, police, and retailers. River Park has a retail task unit that meets with constabulary weekly.

Fresno Police officers person real-time entree to dozens of cameras astir the property.

"It's important due to the fact that if we don't marque bully cases, the territory lawyer can't prosecute," Casto said. "So that further grounds that the cameras supply is invaluable."

The instrumentality has already resulted successful 84 section convictions. Chief Casto present vows to propulsion retail theft down adjacent further.

"It won't proceed by itself. We person to enactment our portion in," she said. "People privation thing done astir theft. So, that's a connection to america arsenic well, that it's important to support resources towards preventing theft successful the metropolis of Fresno."

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