San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow is pushing for legislation to fight looting as wildfires continue to burn across Los Angeles County.
Dow proposed an urgency measure that would increase penalties for "predatory crimes" during a disaster like the Palisades area and across evacuation areas.
"So the idea came up when we saw what was happening in these communities with homes being broken into, homes that were evacuated, maybe hadn't been burned out and people were being, you know, taken advantage of," Dow said. :This was really a predatory type of crime happening, devastating, and individuals in those communities seeing that they've left their home to seek safety and now their property, as well as being stolen by criminals."
Dow says he's working with district attorneys in Orange and Los Angeles counties on the legislation.
"We're working together, along with our other colleagues, to propose the most robust set of changes to California law to ensure that in the future, no matter how soon, once this legislation is passed, we will have much more stiff penalties to hold these predators accountable for taking advantage of individuals during a crisis, a disaster, or in an evacuation area," Dow said.
Dow also brought up both Proposition 47 and 36, sharing that he's looking to create a "looting statute" that makes punishment for theft crimes during an emergency more serious.
An emergency measure will allow the law to go into effect immediately once signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
"What happens next week, next month if there's another fire and more looting? We need to show our public that we care about them. We're working for them to hold people accountable and hopefully prevent and deter future predatory crimes like looting a disaster area," he continued.
"It was clear to us that we needed to examine and see if the laws were tough enough. And they they certainly are not today," Dow added.
