California Under Siege: Newsom Unleashes $267M War Chest to Battle Smash-and-Grab Epidemic

William FurneyOct 19, 2023

Minute Read

Smash-and-Grab crimes plaguing California may soon be the thing of the past, as Governor Gavin Newsom launched a multimillion-dollar initiative to crack down on the thieving criminals.

Governor Getting Tough

Image Credit: Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom vowed to help beleaguered store owners deal with people running into their businesses, grabbing items and fleeing without paying.

‘Enough Already’

Governor Newsom said in a statement: “Enough with these brazen smash-and-grabs. With an unprecedented $267 million investment, Californians will soon see more takedowns, more police, more arrests and more felony prosecutions.”

‘Straight to Jail’

The aim was to ensure that the moment criminals left a store with something they stole, police would be ready to pounce. “When shameless criminals walk out of stores with stolen goods, they’ll walk straight into jail cells,” he said.

Spate of Robberies in California

The new program comes amid a wave of thefts at luxury stores in big cities in the state involving multiple people who enter together and start stealing items, making it difficult for stores and their security officers to deal with the mass pilfering.

‘Spray Attack on Security’

Dozens of people took part in a smash-and-grab at luxury department store Nordstrom in Los Angeles in August and used bear spray on security guards that irritates the eyes and can cause breathing problems, the Los Angeles Times reported. The thieves got away with items collectively worth up to $100,000, the paper said.

High-End Hits

Image Credit: Daniel Fung / Shutterstock.

Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent stores in Los Angeles have also been targeted by thieves, to such an extent that the Los Angeles Police Department was forced to establish a special task force to deal with the growing problem.

LA Mayor Concern

People living in Los Angeles were worried about the rising level of store crime, admitted LA Mayor Karen Bass. “No Angeleno should feel like it’s not safe to go shopping in Los Angeles. “No entrepreneur should feel like it’s not safe to open a business.”

‘Economy Suffering’

Some store owners in Los Angeles, San Francisco and elsewhere in the state have been hit so badly by flash mobs stealing their products that they’ve closed their businesses, dealing a blow to the economy, the largest in the United States, said authorities.

Beefing Up Security

Videos of the large-scale thefts have spread online as retailers in California introduced additional security measures to deal with the stealing, including hiring more security staff and securing high-value items with locks.

Distributing the Funds

Governor Newsom enacted legislation in 2021 to form a taskforce to investigate criminal gangs suspected of involvement in retail crime. At the time he also made a budgetary request for funding from which the $267 million will come. A total of 55 agencies will receive funding to help combat the smash-and-grab crimewave, including police and sheriff departments and district attorneys’ offices.

Funds Are ‘Game Changer’

The newly announced funding will be used over the next three years, with police focusing more on foot patrols in retail areas of big cities as well as investigating retail crimes. More surveillance equipment, such as street cameras, would be purchased and district attorneys would be able to prosecute more retail thefts.

It all amounted to “a game changer,” said California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee. “This is a sizable investment that will be a force multiplier when it comes to combating organized retail crime in California.”

California Not Alone

Serial store thefts in the Golden State — California has a GDP of $3.5 trillion — are also happening across the United States and authorities suspect “organized retail crime” is behind much of it.

‘$100m Loss Across US’

The US retail industry lost around $100 billion in smash-and-grab robberies in 2022, according to a report by the National Retail Federation.

Lower In-Store Revenues

The robbery epidemic comes at a time when physical stores are suffering because of the digital economy, where many people prefer to make purchases online instead of the time, effort and expense involved in traveling to shops or malls. Physical stores are also battling rising costs such as higher energy bills and rents.

Armed Thieves

People stealing from stores, which also includes breaking into them when they’re closed, are also resorting to using guns, say the authorities.

“Recently, we’ve seen suspects use weapons consisting of firearms, pepper spray and bear spray to fend off employees or loss prevention officers and just cause chaos to the people shopping there,” said Los Angeles Assistant Sheriff Holly Francisco. “Our goal is to reduce the number of retail thefts and actively investigate all the criminals involved.”