State Grants Target Retail Theft

Many of us have seen the viral images of retail theft across news outlets and social media. Large groups of thieves enter a retailer and steal thousands of dollars of merchandise in a matter of minutes.

Luxury stores in Union Square have been among the high-profile targets across the state, but small businesses haven’t been immune. The crime can be devastating to the business, traumatic for workers and unsafe for shoppers. The loss often leads to higher prices for consumers.

To help crack down on these brazen smash-and-grab crimes, I championed with Gov. Gavin Newsom a way for the state to step in with funding, making it California’s largest single investment to combat organized retail crime. Nearly $270 million in grants have been awarded to 55 law enforcement agencies to increase arrests and prosecutions of these cases.

I’m happy to report my district, Assembly District 19, will receive some of this state funding:

• San Francisco Police: $15 million.

• San Mateo County Sheriff: $15 million.

• Daly City Police: $8 million.

These grants can be used to staff retail theft investigative units, install advanced surveillance technology, train loss prevention officers, create new task forces, foster increased cooperation with businesses and the community and conduct blitz operations.

In San Francisco, the funding will help the police department address persistent staffing shortages. They will be able to hire more personnel, allow overtime for patrol officers, and purchase vehicles and equipment.

Included in the $270 million grant program is funding to 13 district attorneys’ (D.A.) offices with each receiving $2 million for vertical prosecution. That means the D.A. will be hiring or assigning staff dedicated to major retail theft cases, rather than assigning these cases to multiple attorneys as they pass through the system. San Francisco is one of the recipients, and the office has indicated they will use the money for a fully dedicated prosecutor and investigator, both assigned to the City’s repeat and group offenders of retail theft.

Instead of the cases being distributed in the D.A.’s general felonies group, a vertical system allows the new staff to familiarize themselves with store managers and workers, while developing the ability to identify witnesses. These relationships could be key to successful convictions. The D.A.’s Office also says these extra resources will help them build strong cases against fencers and resellers who make these crimes lucrative.

The $270 million is distributed over three years with the first installment going out in October 2023. This state support from arrest to conviction is critical to the efforts in stopping organized retail theft, and it helps ensure law enforcement has the resources they need to stop it. I know there are other criminal activities that need similar attention, and the Legislature is looking at more ways to enhance state/local partnerships to help make our neighborhoods safer.

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the west side of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma and Daly City as well as part of South San Francisco.