County awarded $10 million to combat large-scale retail theft

California has taken extensive steps to combat organized retail theft. This is a more serious and costly crime than shoplifting or employee theft.

Two years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his Real Public Safety Plan, which included $255 million in grants to local law enforcement to combat the growing specter of organized retail theft (ORT).

Last week, the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) announced 55 grants. Statewide, 34 police departments, seven sheriffs’ departments, one probation department and 13 district attorney (DA) offices received funds to prevent and investigate cases of ORT, and arrest and prosecute more suspects.

The Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grants will fund a variety of crime-fighting programs, including data sharing, surveillance and license plate trackers. Successful applicants had to demonstrate policies to protect privacy, and avoid racial and ethnic biases.

Two Riverside County agencies — the district attorney’s office and the Sheriff’s Department — and two local police departments — Hemet and Palm Springs — received grant funding totaling more than $11.3 million. The three-year grant period begins Oct. 1.

“The recipients of these grants have demonstrated a commitment to tackling retail theft through innovative strategies to deter, prevent, and respond to organized retail crime,” according to the BSCC press release.

“This is a huge priority of the Governor and Legislature and we are delighted to put this money out into the field,” said Board Chair Linda Penner.

District Attorney’s Office

The Riverside County DA’s office received a grant for $2.05 million.

In its application, the DA proposed “a program designed to effectively combat the scourge of ORT … we will employ state-of-the-art investigative techniques designed to identify and eliminate ORT at the root. In court, our prosecutors will employ a just and balanced approach, offering diversion alternatives to suitable low-level offenders. For ORT instigators and fencing operators, we will fight for sentences that appropriately deter and punish.”

In its press release, the DA’s Office said it will create a team composed of a full-time deputy DA, full-time DA investigator, investigative technician and research specialist.

“These grant funds are critical to elevating organized retail theft prosecution to the same level as we do other complex fraud offenses,” said Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin. “We recognize this as a serious problem, which impacts every single consumer and retailer in Southern California. Our ORT program will use proven strategies specially designed to identity the core participants behind these operations, and then hold them accountable.”

In the past two years, the DA’s office has initiated 53 ORT cases, which included nearly 100 defendants. Due to the complexity and conspiracy elements of these crimes, that number likely represents only a portion of the reality of ORT in the region.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Office

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office grant was for $2.2 million and will be used at the Jurupa Valley Station’s Organized Theft Prevention Project. It will specifically go after the increasing organized motor vehicle and retail theft within Jurupa Valley.

The project includes installing 60 Flock Cameras, each equipped with License Plate Capture Technology, and creating a Small Business Retail Theft Prevention Campaign.

Palm Springs City Police Department

The Palm Springs Police Department (PSPD) received the largest grant — $4.56 million — of the four agencies. With these funds, PSPD will go after theft in retail establishments, theft of vehicles and catalytic converters. PSPD views apprehension as a short-term strategy. Prevention through problem-solving and situational crime prevention is a long-term approach with a proven track record of sustained reductions in crime, according to its grant request.

Hemet City Police Department

The Hemet Police Department’s (HPD) grant was for $2.5 million will allow it to conduct a four-year initiative to prevent ORT. Among the proposed actions, HPD will create a public education and deterrence campaign, train retailers on principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, establish an anti-ORT task force comprised of law enforcement officers and retail representatives, install 25 more community cameras in key locations, use gateway technology so HPD can view footage from retailers’ private cameras, assign a full-time investigator and crime analyst, and provide evidence to the DA’s office while pursing pretrial diversion solutions whenever possible.