Law enforcement: vehicle burglary and theft task forces.

Existing law defines the crime of burglary to include entering a vehicle when the doors are locked with the intent to commit grand or petit larceny or a felony. Existing law makes the burglary of a vehicle punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. Existing law prohibits the theft of a vehicle, as specified. Existing law makes the theft of a vehicle punishable as a misdemeanor or felony. This bill would require the Board of State and Community Corrections to administer grants to law enforcement agencies that participate in regional vehicle burglary and theft reduction joint task forces. The bill would make law enforcement agencies in specified counties eligible to participate in the regional task forces. The bill would require participating law enforcement agencies in each region to form a joint task force coordination council consisting of a representative of the Department of the California Highway Patrol and the sheriff or chief of police, or their representatives, of each participating law enforcement agency. The bill would require the board to distribute funding to the task forces, and require those funds to be expended with the goal of reducing vehicle burglary and theft, identifying suspects engaged in vehicle burglary and theft, identifying interregional movement of vehicle burglary and theft offenders, coordinating joint vehicle burglary and theft enforcement efforts, and promoting law enforcement training and best practices to reduce the incidence of vehicle burglary and theft. The bill would additionally require the lead agency of each task force to report to the board specified information relating to the crimes of vehicle burglary and theft in the jurisdictions participating in the task force. The bill would require the board to compile those statistics and, on or after January 1 of the year subsequent to the receipt of those reports, and annually thereafter, to report this information to the Legislature and the Governor and post the information on the board's internet website. The bill would require these provisions to be implemented only to the extent that funding is appropriated for these purposes, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Riverside, and Ventura, and the City and County of San Francisco.