With this move, Governor Davis demonstrates that he recognizes the severity of the problem and is taking steps to alleviate it.
Identity theft is a growing crime in California.
According to estimates from the credit industry, between 50,000 and 70,000 Californians will become victims this year. Identity theft occurs when someone takes pieces of your personally identifying information, such as your Social Security number, and uses them to open new accounts in your name or to access your current accounts. Even though identity theft was made a felony by federal law in 1998, victims report frustration convincing the police to investigate the crime. Due to the lack of funding and other resources available to law enforcement, as well as to the multi-jurisdictional nature of the cases, it is difficult for the police to investigate financial crimes such as identity theft. The Governor's recent move to combat identity theft comes after his veto this fall of CA Assembly Speaker Hertzberg's bill AB 1949, which would have created regional identity theft units within two law enforcement departments to run a public awareness campaign, act as a clearinghouse for law enforcement, provide information to victims, and investigate and prosecute identity thieves.