Using bumper stickers, billboards and advertisements on public buses, Orange County prosecutors have launched an anti-crime campaign aimed at deterring people from committing robberies there.
In particular, these would be people from Los Angeles and other Southern California counties, whom Orange County officials blame for much of the theft on their territory.
The campaign, which has been underway for more than a week, consists of ads on buses in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Norwalk and Glendale, along with digital marketing targeting cell phones of people in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino , San Diego. and imperial counties. Signs along highways and near popular shopping areas display the message “Crime Doesn't Pay in Orange County” in large capital letters. Below, they offer a warning to those toying with the idea: “If you steal, we prosecute.”
“Over the last several years, Orange County has experienced a significant number of defendants coming from Los Angeles, Riverside and other surrounding counties for the sole purpose of committing residential burglaries and burglaries, burglaries and robberies, and commercial burglaries,” he said the district attorney. he wrote the office in a news release.
In May 2023, prosecutors announced that they had charged approximately 140 defendants over the course of a year in connection with robberies and burglaries, commercial robberies, and burglaries. Most of those people lived outside of Orange County, according to a news release issued at the time.
In a video announcing the campaign, Dist. Attorney. Todd Spitzer took aim at criminal justice reforms and said the legislation passed in Sacramento has made “the risk…far less than the reward” for those seeking to commit crimes. Supporters of the reforms have said the state should continue to invest money in programs that improve public safety without perpetuating mass incarceration.
“Sacramento may be rolling out the red carpet for thieves, but here in Orange County, we are throwing the book out to criminals who come here to steal,” he said.
Spitzer has long branded himself as a law enforcement district attorney and has been outspoken on the issue of residential and retail theft. During his 2022 campaign for the county's top law enforcement job, he focused on his record of punishing criminals to prevent Orange County from becoming like Los Angeles, using the slogan #NoLAinOC.
Spitzer recently partnered with State Senator Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera) on SB 923, legislation that aims to increase the time spent behind bars for those repeatedly accused of petty theft. The bill, if passed, would restore some provisions that were eliminated with voter approval in 2014 of Proposition 47, which made some nonviolent property crimes misdemeanors punishable by jail terms of one year or less. .
The billboard and bus ads are estimated to cost $150,000 and reach more than 38 million people during their four-week run. The digital marketing campaign is expected to cost up to $75,000. The campaign is funded by federal money seized from assets, according to the district attorney's office.
