Shoplifting reports soared in L.A. last year

Crosstown looked at crime statistics that the L.A. Police Department posted publicly on a city website last week.

It shows retailers reported 11,945 shoplifting cases in 2023, more than five thousand cases higher than in 2022 (6,585), which was a more typical year, as compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Overall, retail crime, which includes shoplifting and felony smash-and-grabs, climbed 15% in 2023, according to Crosstown.

Authorities arrested 41 suspects and recovered over $10,000 worth of stolen merchandise during a retail theft bust in L.A. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)Authorities arrested 41 suspects and recovered over $10,000 worth of stolen merchandise during a retail theft bust in L.A. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)Authorities arrested 41 suspects and recovered over $10,000 worth of stolen merchandise during a retail theft bust in L.A. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)Authorities arrested 41 suspects and recovered over $10,000 worth of stolen merchandise during a retail theft bust in L.A. February 2024. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)Authorities arrested 41 suspects and recovered over $10,000 worth of stolen merchandise during a retail theft bust in L.A. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)File – A security guard, right, stands at the entrance to a Nordstrom department store in Los Angeles, Dec. 2, 2021, where a smash-and-grab robbery took place. The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, has revised a report released in April that pulls back the claim that organized retail crime accounts for nearly half of overall industry shrink, which measures overall loss in inventory, including theft. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)Authorities arrested 41 suspects and recovered over $10,000 worth of stolen merchandise during a retail theft bust in L.A. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)

Some shoppers say the surge in retail theft has shattered their sense of safety.

“I think it’s become an epidemic,” Patricia Hernandez told KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw on Monday while shopping with her daughters in Arcadia. “I won’t come out without my husband. I won’t take the girls by myself. I usually don’t go shopping after dark.”

Midway through 2023, local leaders announced a task force to combat the rising number of smash-and-grab cases that were occurring almost daily in the Los Angeles metro area – many during broad daylight in crowded stores.

Last month, Mayor Karen Bass and Police Chief Michel Moore announced the crackdown had resulted in 128 arrests and “contributed to a 33% reduction in flash robberies.”

Also, a bill in the California State Assembly would hold repeat thieves more accountable by making it a felony for anyone who has two or more theft-related convictions and is arrested again.

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