AB 1845: Crimes: Grant program for identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting resale of stolen property.

Existing law, as amended by the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, makes it a crime to buy, receive, conceal, sell, or withhold any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing that the property has been so obtained. Under existing law, this offense is punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony, unless the value of the property does not exceed $950, in which case an offense is punishable as a misdemeanor.

Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships in Californias adult and juvenile criminal justice system, as specified. Under existing law, the board administers several grant programs, including a mentally ill offender crime reduction grant program, a medication-assisted treatment grant program, and a violence intervention and prevention grant program.

This bill would, until January 1, 2030, create the Identifying, Apprehending, and Prosecuting Resale of Stolen Property Grant Program to be administered by the board. The bill would require the board to award grants, on a competitive basis, to county district attorneys offices and law enforcement agencies, acting jointly to investigate and prosecute receiving stolen goods crimes and criminal profiteering. The bill would require the board to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature, as specified, regarding the impact of the grant program. The bills provisions would be operative only to the extent that funding is provided, by express reference, in the annual Budget Act or another statute.