RANCHO CUCAMONGA, California — With the busy holiday shopping season just around the corner, law enforcement officials across California are focusing their efforts on stopping retail theft.
In San Bernardino County, the Sheriff’s Department is reassigning about 70 deputies and detectives who normally work violent crimes to focus on retail theft through the end of the holiday shopping season.
They’re calling the effort Operation Smash and Grab.
“We’re taking a hard line on this,” said sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Allison, who said they’ll be working with retailers like those at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga to thwart local thieves.
“This is not a victimless crime,” Allison said. “The store is a victim, the next customer is a victim, and we want to eliminate some of that if we can.”
Allison said many of her officers will be working undercover as part of the operation.
“You don’t know who you’re shopping next to, whether it’s an undercover officer or a deputy,” Allison said. “And if your intent is to steal, you’re going to be arrested and taken to jail.”
The California Highway Patrol also announced its intention to redeploy resources during a press conference held via Zoom.
“Organised retail crime continues to be a problem,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “From brazen smash-and-grabs to sophisticated theft rings, organised retail crime is a concern for retailers and has the focus and attention of law enforcement throughout California.”
Los Angeles County Assistant Sheriff Holly Francisco also spoke at the briefing and said her task force will focus its efforts on large outlet malls such as the Citadel in the city of Commerce.
“We’re going to do two types of operations,” Francisco said. “One is high visibility, where you’ll see (deputies in) uniforms walking in and around those areas.
“The other is more surveillance and undercover, where you may not see uniformed personnel, but we will have personnel in and around the business.”