California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced what he called an unprecedented agreement Tuesday with large retailers and online marketplaces aimed at cracking down on organized theft rings that resell stolen goods online.
But in a state that has become notorious lately for brazen smash-and-grab thefts at stores — sometimes captured on video and replayed on nightly newscasts — the state’s top law enforcement official faced tough questioning on whether Tuesday’s agreement is enough.
“There’s accountability,” insisted Bonta, said to have aspirations for the governor’s office, at a news conference in Los Angeles. “I’m not saying this is the only answer, but this is an important step.”
- See how Attorney General Rob Bonta wants to fight the problem: Retailers, online marketplaces to work together to fight organized retail crime
Tuesday’s agreement calls for retailers and online marketplaces to work with the state to help identify stolen goods being resold online and the sophisticated crime rings behind the operations. It also establishes an online portal for online marketplace websites where consumers can report suspected theft activity.
But the announcement raised an issue that has become a vulnerability for California’s governing Democrats who in recent years backed a host of criminal justice reform measures that lowered criminal penalties and prison populations and have been blamed since for the high-profile brazen thefts and robberies.
Bonta stressed that what his office was announcing “is not about one-off thefts from stores, it’s not about the occasional smash-and-grab at your local big box store.
“This about a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise, criminal schemes that are complex, orchestrated and incredibly organized,” Bonta said.
He described them as large-scale theft and fraud by individuals or groups that steal retail goods from the supply chain with the intent to resell, distribute, or return stolen merchandise for financial gain. In some cases, resale may occur through third-party online platforms.
California and states across the country have seen a pattern of organized retail crime, Bonta said. According to a 2020 national survey, U.S. retailers lose about $700,000 to organized retail crime per every $1 billion in sales.
In Tuesday’s agreement, the retailers and marketplaces agree to take steps aimed at increasing detection and reporting of organized retail crime, and to collaborate on information sharing and investigation of organized retail crime. The agreement implements direction from legislation passed by state Sen. Nancy Skinner of Oakland and Assemblyman Brian Maienschein of San Diego, both Democrats.
Companies that signed on were CVS Health, Rite Aid, Walgreens, The Home Depot, Albertsons and Safeway, Target, Meta, Amazon, eBay, OfferUp, Mercari and Etsy. Bonta said others are welcome to join in the effort.
Rory Stallard, Home Depot senior manager of asset protection, joined Bonta for the announcement and said that “these rings of criminals go beyond petty shoplifting.”
“They are professional thieves running a business stealing from retailers and our communities,” Stallard said. “It’s becoming increasingly easy for these groups to resell stolen merchandise to unsuspecting consumers through e-commerce sites and third party sites.”
Bonta said state law enforcement officials have been working to address organized retail theft in recent years and those efforts have yielded results.
Just this year, Bonta said, authorities charged eight people involved in an alleged organized retail crime operation that targeted Apple stores across 11 counties and resulted in losses of about $1 million. Four other people were charged for allegedly stealing more than $1 million worth of goods from cargo trucks leaving a Microsoft shipping facility. And three others were charged with an alleged statewide operation targeting Home Depot that resulted in losses of more than $75,000.
“So we’re already at work getting results and making progress this year,” Bonta said. “And today we’ll be able to ramp up those efforts.”
But Bonta fielded several questions from reporters in Los Angeles about retail thefts generally, and the extent to which recent legislation backed by fellow Democrats and social justice groups may have contributed. Among the most controversial were ballot measures like Proposition 47 in 2014, which reduced penalties for drug use, shoplifting and other forms of theft.
Some Bay Area retail workers say they feel vulnerable. Ivette Velez, manager of Hammer and Lewis Fashion in San Jose, said in December five men entered the store, tried on suits and bolted without paying for the clothes. Last month, she said, an off-duty security guard helped stop a shoplifter, which her sales crew feels helpless to do.
“We can’t do that cause we’re women,” Velez said.
“People can’t afford anything these days,” saleswoman Natalie Martinez said. “I understand that, but it’s wrong for them to steal.”
California Retailers Association President and CEO Rachel Michelin said her organization has spent two years pushing for legislation to “fix Prop 47.” They sponsored legislation “to provide consequences to repeat offenders who continue to go into our stores and steal.” But that bill AB 1708 by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, a Torrance Democrat, stalled before reaching a vote.
Assemblyman Juan Alanis, a Modesto Republican, introduced AB 335 to repeal Prop 47, but it was changed to merely authorize a study on the ballot measure’s impacts.
“What’s clear to me is that after Proposition 47’s implementation, there has been has a detrimental effect on our neighborhoods and businesses,” Alanis said Tuesday.
Bonta insisted Prop. 47 isn’t a problem and isn’t at issue with the organized retail thefts he was targeting Tuesday.
“Let’s not confuse oranges and apples,” Bonta said about lower-level retail thefts that often make the news. “We’re in one of the lowest levels of crime in the state of California, overall, with some spikes in some crimes. We need to address all crimes — any crime is a problem.”
Source: Orange County Register
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