California will invest $267 million to assist dozens of local law enforcement agencies in increasing patrols, purchasing surveillance technology, and conducting other actions geared at reducing smash-and-grab robberies across the state.
California voters created this problem by voting in a law that knocks any theft under $950 to a misdemeanor, enticing criminal thugs to shoplift at stores like Walgreens, Walmart, and others. Once the criminal world realized nothing was being done about it, some criminals started getting organized into smash-and-grab teams.
The announcement was made on Friday by officials from the California Highway Patrol, as well as law enforcement departments from San Francisco and Los Angeles. It comes after a succession of audacious luxury store robberies in recent months, in which dozens of people enter a store and begin stealing en masse.
Videos of the instances swiftly spread online, fueling opponents who claim California is too lenient on crime.
“Enough with these brazen smash-and-grabs — we’re ensuring law enforcement agencies have the resources they need to take down these criminals,” California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom said regarding the funds in a statement. He wants to be president.
Trust me, Newsom is only doing this because the lawlessness is making his 2024 run look weak.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELThe funds come from a fund established by Newsom in late 2021 when he signed legislation to reconstitute a statewide task force focused on detecting organized theft organizations. The funds will be distributed through grants to 55 organizations, including local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and district attorney’s offices.
The grants, which will be distributed over the next three years, will assist local law enforcement agencies in establishing investigative units, increasing foot patrol, purchasing advanced surveillance technology and equipment, and cracking down on vehicle and catalytic converter theft, which has become widespread in the Bay Area. The funds would also go toward funding units in district attorneys’ offices dedicated to prosecuting these crimes.
The money, according to California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee, is “a game changer.”
“This is a sizable investment that will be a force multiplier when it comes to combating organized retail crime in California,” he said at a news conference on Friday.
Retailers in California and other cities throughout the country, including Chicago and Minneapolis, have recently been targeted by large-scale thefts when groups of people gather for mass stealing events or rush into stores, do a smash and grab from display cases, and get out within one minute.
A video showed masked criminals racing through the store, one pulling a display rack behind them. As they left, they destroyed glass cases and stole pricey items such as fancy purses and designer clothing.
In recent years, other high-end malls have been targeted in a similar manner. Recently, a Gucci store and a Yves Saint Laurent store in the Los Angeles area were prominent targets, prompting officials to announce the formation of a special task force to investigate the crimes.
“No Angeleno should feel like it’s not safe to go shopping in Los Angeles,” said Mayor Karen Bass last month, unveiling the new task team. “No entrepreneur should feel like it’s not safe to open a business.”
According to the governor’s office, law enforcement in California has arrested over 1,250 people and recovered $30.7 million in stolen property since 2019.
According to Los Angeles Assistant Sheriff Holly Francisco, the extra financing is critical to assisting law enforcement in responding to large-scale, organized crimes that could turn violent.
On Friday, she said, “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.” She added, “Our goal is to reduce the number of retail thefts and actively investigate all the criminals involved.”
If you live in California, my advice is for you to get out. The people running the state do not care about you. They only care about themselves and their political careers. They have set up the environment of crime. They come up with all kinds of goofy solutions that rarely ever work and usually create even more problems. It is nearly impossible for working families to afford to buy a house, as California is simultaneously the richest and poorest state in the country.
