By admin 
Police in California has released a video of a trio of alleged shoplifters who were shocked to discover that the punishment for their crime had recently been changed.
In the viral surveillance video shared by Seal Beach police on Sunday, three women are seen walking into an Ulta Beauty store, browsing the shelves and then casually leaving with what police say was almost $650. worth of stolen goods.
“…a friendly reminder that Proposition 36, which increases penalties for some shoplifting and drug possession crimes, went into effect in California on Wednesday morning,” the Seal Beach Police Department wrote in the caption of the video on their Instagram account.
The video shows the women entering another business and allegedly stealing more merchandise, totaling nearly $1,000 in stolen goods.
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Bodycam video shows police officers chasing and eventually arresting the women.
“Is it a crime?” one of the women asks the other in the back of the patrol car.
“Bh new laws,” the woman replies. ‘Stealing is a crime and this Orange County bra. They don’t play.”
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Along with the video, police shared a friendly reminder.
“It reverses some of the changes voters made with a 2014 ballot measure that turned certain nonviolent felonies into misdemeanors, effectively shortening prison sentences and leading to a spike in shoplifting and crime,” police said. “Here in Seal Beach we have never believed in the cite and release program, but this new proposal only strengthens our commitment to combating organized retail theft. Remember folks, don’t steal in Seal.’
Proposition 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, attempted to undo parts of Proposition 47 by increasing penalties for some crimes. It passed overwhelmingly in California, reversing a soft-on-crime policy backed by billionaire George Soros.
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When Proposition 47 was passed in 2014, most thefts were downgraded from felonies to felonies if the amount stolen was less than $950, “unless the suspect had previously been convicted of murder, rape, certain sex offenses or certain gun crimes.”
Progressive District Attorney in Los Angeles County George Gascon, backed by Soros, authored Proposition 47 and lost his seat to challenger Nathan Hochman in November.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom remained adamantly opposed to the effort to undo parts of Proposition 47, saying it “takes us back to the 1980s, mass incarceration.”
Jamie Joseph of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to (email protected)