Does the crime of stealing property from the person, even if the value of the property is low, need to be treated as a felony rather than a petty theft?

^1. Historically, the crime of stealing property from the person was punishable as a felony, even if the stolen item's value was low, because the crime was considered a "more heinous offense than ordinary or common theftpartly by reason of the ease with which it can be perpetrated and the difficulty of guarding against it, and partly because of the greater liability of endangering the person or life of the victim." (People v. McElroy (1897) 116 Cal. 583, 584.)

^2. Defendants with prior convictions for sexually violent offenses, lewd acts with a child under age 14, and other specified offenses are ineligible for the downgrade to petty theft. (See 490.2, subd. (a).) As "[t]he summary of the proposition's purpose and intent . . . stated, 'In enacting this act, it is the purpose and intent of the people of the State of California to: [] (1) Ensure that people convicted of murder, rape, and child molestation will not benefit from this act.'" (People v. Montgomery (2016) 247 Cal.App.4th 1385, 1391.)