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Encyclopedia entry

Penal Code 490.2 (Petty Theft Valuation Rule)

Codifies that theft of property valued at $950 or less is generally petty theft regardless of the item type, subject to listed exceptions.

Penal Code section 490.2, also added by Proposition 47, provides that obtaining property by theft where the value does not exceed $950 is petty theft, to be punished as a misdemeanor, with specified exceptions for defendants with certain prior serious convictions. It works together with sections 484, 487, and 459.5 to form the modern low-value theft framework.

This statute affects how retail and commercial security teams categorize theft events for reporting purposes, since the value of goods recovered or unrecovered often determines whether law enforcement treats an incident as a low-priority misdemeanor referral versus a more actively investigated case. Consistent, itemized valuation in incident reports helps downstream charging decisions.

Security and loss-prevention staff should resist pressure to inflate valuations to escalate charging severity; accurate, receipt-based or reasonably estimated valuations serve everyone's interests and protect the reporting company's credibility with law enforcement and courts. Officers are fact-gatherers here, not the deciding authority on classification.

Valuation thresholds are a frequent subject of reform proposals; verify the current statutory amount before using it in policy or training documents.

Related entries

Penal Code 484/487 (Petty Theft and Grand Theft)Sets the general definition of theft and the dollar-value and property-type lines separating petty theft from grand theft.Penal Code 459.5 (Shoplifting)Creates a specific misdemeanor shoplifting offense for entering an open business to steal property worth $950 or less.Retail Theft (Shoplifting)Theft of merchandise from a retail store, addressed through deterrence, observation, and documented incident response.Incident ReportThe written record an officer creates documenting an observed event, action taken, and follow-up needed.

Official sources

  1. [1]Cal. Penal Code § 490.2California Legislative Information

Links point to the publishing agency or the California Legislative Information text. Government pages are reorganized periodically — if a link moves, search the code section or agency name at the official site.

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General industry and regulatory usage — not legal advice, and not an endorsement by BSIS, the Department of Consumer Affairs, or any law-enforcement agency. Statutes, regulations, and local ordinances change; verify current text at the official government source or with your attorney.

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