Organized shoplifting in the US is part of a trend

Groups of thieves, some of them armed with pry bars and hammers, smashed windows and sideboards, and looted luxury stores in the San Francisco Bay area, taking jewelry, sunglasses, luggage and other merchandise in vehicles that were waiting for them. , during a weekend of brazen organized robberies that shocked Christmas shoppers and sparked concerns surrounding the hectic shopping season.

The robberies are believed to be part of sophisticated criminal networks that primarily recruit young people to steal merchandise in stores across the country, and then sell them online. Thefts have been on the rise as the Christmas shopping season approaches, experts and authorities say.

“We are not talking about someone who needs money or food. These are people who do this for a big profit, and for their emotions, ”said Ben Dugan, president of the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail.

The weekend robberies began in San Francisco around 8:00 p.m. Friday, when multiple people broke into stores such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Bloomingdale’s in the downtown area and in Union Square, an upscale shopping district that It is popular with tourists and it was packed with Christmas shoppers.

Witnesses posted videos of the chaotic scene on social media, in which police officers are seen forcibly removing a suspect from a waiting vehicle, while other people ran with merchandise in their arms or dragging suitcases.

These mobs are typically organized by local people who recruit elements and send them out to steal specific merchandise that was requested by criminal organizations across the country, Dugan said.

The people who carry out the robberies receive between $ 500 and $ 1,000 for stealing everything they can and taking it to the organizers, who send the merchandise to other parts of the country.

“The bosses organize them, give them bars and, in some cases, rent vehicles or provide them with escape routes or a list of the products they must steal. It all looks very chaotic, but it is actually very well organized, ”said Dugan.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said his office met over the weekend with some of the merchants, who requested a greater police presence.

“You will see many more (patrols) starting today, in the busiest areas and ahead of the Black Friday season in the malls,” he said Monday during an event in San Francisco.

He said the California Highway Patrol immediately redoubled its patrols on nearby freeways after the weekend robberies, and asked local authorities how they could help.

In July, Newsom signed into law a law that allows prosecutors to press charges against those who work with other people to steal merchandise. He said this year’s state budget included millions of dollars for local authorities to deal with retail theft and that his budget proposal for January will include an “exponential increase in support to help cities and counties.”

“They’ve gone into my business three times this year,” said Newsom, who owns two wine stores in San Francisco. “I do not have any empathy nor do I like these subjects, they must be held accountable.”

Retail stores lose about $ 65 billion each year to organized robberies, most of which are perpetrated by professional thieves. Criminal mobs are part of a growing national trend, he noted.

Last week, 14 suspects broke into a Louis Vuitton store in Oak Brook, a Chicago suburb, pulled large plastic bags from their coats and filled them with clothing and other items, stealing more than $ 120,000 worth of merchandise, police said. .