Topline:
Law enforcement agencies are stepping up patrols and undercover operations at malls and shopping districts as the holiday shopping season approaches.
Why it matters: The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol said the plans are in response to a recent series of “brazen smash and grabs" and "sophisticated theft rings."
The backstory: Two months ago, Southern California law enforcement agencies received state funding to combat burglaries in which groups of people dash into a store and scoop up as much merchandise as they can before running away.
Local and state officials have announced plans to increase the number of “high visibility patrols and law enforcement,” as well as undercover personnel, in stores across Los Angeles County this holiday season.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol said the plans are in response to a recent series of “brazen smash and grabs" and "sophisticated theft rings" in which groups of people dash into a store and scoop up as much merchandise as they can before running away.
The announcement came around two months after Southern California law enforcement agencies received $267 million in state funding to combat smash and grab burglaries.
Holly Francisco, assistant sheriff of countywide operations, said the task force consists of 32 personnel and a detective. She noted that the task force was able to apprehend a crew that allegedly committed at least seven burglaries of BevMo stores in the L.A. County region.
“In the first 10 weeks of the task force operation, the team made over 180 arrests related to retail theft, and recovered eight firearms and served 109 search warrants," Francisco said.
