San Francisco to combat retail theft during holiday shopping season with $17 million state grant
San Francisco police plan to expand their retail theft enforcement strategies during the holiday shopping season thanks in part to a multi-million-dollar state grant, according to Mayor London Breed.
Breed announced the $17 million grant in September and said in a news release Monday that police have conducted 40 anti-theft operations that have led to more than 300 arrests since last year.
The funding helps pay for officers' overtime while running targeted retail theft operations, which Breed says will "significantly increase" during the next three years.
The grant also includes money for the San Francisco District Attorney's Office to fund a prosecutor and investigator dedicated to retail theft cases.
The money is also being used to buy and install 400 automated license plate readers to cover 100 intersections throughout the city.