With L.A. ranked as the retail theft capital of the country, how big is the problem really, and what can be done to solve it? Join us for our live KNX News Town Hall, Smash and Grab, Stealing the Season, on Dec. 12.
A new task force aimed at investigating and prosecuting suspects in organized retail crimes in Los Angeles County was announced on Thursday.
Commander Jay Mastick with the Los Angeles Police Department will oversee the task force.
“We have 22 assigned full-time investigators that will work 24-7,” Deputy Chief Kris Pitcher with the LAPD said. “Seven days a week, they will be responding to incidents day and night to conduct full investigations to start those incidents and to follow up on every available lead.”
The Organized Retail Crimes Task Force is a multi-agency task force, which will be led by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Commercial Crimes Division, according to LAPD assistant chief Dominic Choi.
The task force will also include investigators from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol, Glendale Police Department, Burbank Police Department, Beverly Hills Police Department, Santa Monica Police Department, U.S. Marshals Apprehension Task Force, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Task Force.
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It comes in the midst of an uptick in smash-and-grab robberies in Southern California, where groups of individuals have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise.
Orange County’s South Coast Plaza was hit Wednesday night, when a group of thieves took off with more than $100,000 worth of merchandise. The day before that, $100,000 worth of merchandise was stolen from Ksubi in Los Angeles.
On Aug. 12 in Canoga Park, the Westfield Topanga Shopping Center’s Nordstrom was ransacked. Days earlier, an Yves Saint Laurent store at the Americana at Brand mall in Glendale was robbed.
Mayor Karen Bass said the goal is “to keep Angelenos safe and to feel safe.”
“No Angelino should like it is not safe to go shopping in Los Angeles. No entrepreneur should feel like it’s not safe to open a business in Los Angeles,” she said. “So, to Angelenos, our message is clear. Those who commit these crimes will be caught, they will be held accountable, and we will work to address this issue.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta said during a press conference Tuesday he was working with the city of L.A. to help in addressing this ongoing issue.
Notably missing from the conference was Los Angeles DA George Gascón, who told KNX In Depth, “We were not notified of the press conference."
When asked about Gascón's absence, Mayor Bass told KNX News' Craig Fiegener, "The task force is very, very large. We didn't have everybody here from the task force."
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