Some Northern California district attorneys receive funding to fight organized retail crime
SACRAMENTO — In a new crackdown on organized retail crime, some Northern California district attorneys are now getting new tools to root out the criminal enterprises.
That includes Placer County, where District Attorney Morgan Gire says organized retail crime cases in his office have risen 67 percent in a single year.
It's become an all-too-familiar site: smash-and-grab robberies and a group of thieves targeting high-priced items, creating chaos and confusion and costing store owners their livelihoods.
"What's changed in the last 10 years is I think the brazenness of it, the determination on the part of the thieves to continue doing it over and over again," Gire said.
Now, Gire's office has been awarded $2 million from the state to hire a new prosecutor, investigator and crime analyst all dedicated to organized retail theft.
"We're thinking of large-scale theft rings where there is a hierarchy, there is a network of thieves that then report to fencers that then are in charge of distributing these goods," Gire said.
The crimes have become high profile because of surveillance videos showing swarming theft events and in some cases, attacks on retailers.
The state is awarding local district attorneys new funding to fight back.
Placer is one of 13 counties to receive the new retail theft money. Other local district attorney offices include Sacramento, Stanislaus and Yolo Counties.
Gus Murphy lives in Placer County and has helped coordinate retail theft abatement meetings after he found retailers felt like giving up on reporting the crimes.
"It was about as grassroots as you can get," Murphy said. "Just getting the store owners to make the call, as they're being robbed, took persuading."
"In Placer County, we still prosecute all thieves," Gire said.
These heinous high-profile crimes are now getting a renewed focus from local district attorneys seeking justice and more closed cases.
Gire said he plans to fill his new positions immediately. The state funding will last for at least the next four years.