BILL WOULD AID LOCAL IDENTITY THEFT CASES.

Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Although mail theft is a federal crime, a bill unveiled Wednesday would also criminalize it in California as a way to combat identity theft.

As they unveiled the proposed legislation at Glendale Police Department headquarters, Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer, D-Glendale, and Mayor Rafi Manoukian said they each had been recent victims of identity theft.

``California is a state that has not had criminal laws that keep pace with this crime, which has become an epidemic,'' Frommer said. ``And today we're here to send a message to these criminals who are making millions rummaging through our mail boxes and our trash cans: The jig is up.''

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service says it is hard-pressed to keep up with mail thieves in California. When local police catch thieves going through people's mail, the crooks can usually be prosecuted only for possession of stolen property, a misdemeanor.

The measure posed by Frommer would make it easier for authorities to charge mail thieves with a felony. AB 2886 also would allow a suspect to be prosecuted in the county where the victim lives, rather than only in the location where the crime occurred.

Glendale residents reported more than 500 cases of identity theft last year. California had 45,175 victims of identity theft in 2005, which is the third-highest amount per capita of any state.

``None of us are immune from this growing problem,'' said Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams. ``It's going to be a challenge of the decade for law enforcement.''

Manoukian said he recently discovered that someone used his bank account to make $1,300 in purchases in San Diego and Chula Vista. And Frommer said someone bought $1,000 worth of merchandise in Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach stores using his credit card number.

AB 2886 is expected to come before the Assembly Public Safety Committee for a vote in mid-April.