Thanksgiving weekend was a time for deals—and quite literally—steals.
California law enforcement groups had their hands full during the holiday shopping blowout, which brought throngs of consumers to shopping centers and malls across the Golden State.
In a blitz that began on Black Friday and ended on Sunday, the Ventura County Organized Retail Task Force (ORCTF) arrested 20 suspects for stealing from the Camarillo Premium Outlets in Camarillo, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles. Collaboration between the Ventura Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, and police officers from Camarillo, Ventura and Simi Valley, resulted in the on-site recovery of about $9,000 in stolen merchandise from stores like Nike, Calvin Klein, Old Navy, Lacoste and more.
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Sergeant Baltazar Tapia of the Ventura Sheriff’s Office told Sourcing Journal that the Ventura County ORCTF worked with the shopping center, which houses about 160 stores, ahead of Thanksgiving week to coordinate the sting. It was carried out by about three dozen undercover detectives and law enforcement stationed throughout the shopping center on bikes and on horseback. The effort was assisted by drones, which provided greater visibility.
“When we put an operation in place, we try to reach out to all the retailers, let them know what’s going to happen, what’s going on,” Tapia said. “We get our personnel that are available, and we get with loss prevention. If they’re available, great. If not, our investigators act as loss prevention.”
Security staff at Calvin Klein and Nike coordinated with officers to track suspects in the stores. “We had detectives outside, and detectives inside walking around. They observed the concealment” of men’s and women’s apparel and footwear, he added. Suspects hid items in shopping bags from other retailers as well as strollers and carts.
Officers attempted to engage suspects rapidly after they exited the stores, though some vehicle pursuits took place. “We contacted them coming out of the store or right as they’re getting into their car, and we were able to secure more property that they might have stolen before,” Tapia said.
ORCTF observed several crime crews working together, each made up of two to three suspects. The 20 suspects that were arrested throughout the weekend were charged with a range of crimes, including shoplifting, organized retail theft, conspiracy to commit a crime, grand theft, and possession of stolen property, as well as child endangerment and possession of drug paraphernalia, incurring both misdemeanor and felony charges.
The passage of recent retail crime legislation has empowered law enforcement with more tools. Prop. 36, the ballot initiative passed by 70 percent of California voters in November, approves felony sentences for offenders who steal goods valued at under $950 if they’ve already been convicted twice before.
Meanwhile, an 11-bill package signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom this fall created avenues for cross-jurisdictional prosecution, giving district attorneys the ability to aggregate crimes—even across county lines—in the pursuit of a felony charge, and creating penalties for fencing stolen goods.
“With the new laws changing… that’s going to be a godsend for us,” Tapia said. “Crews that come from out of the county into our county—if they’ve committed a crime in our county, it does not matter where they live, we will go and finish our investigation and arrest them.”
According to the Sergeant, the new laws set much-needed limits. “It seemed like a free-for-all—as long as you steal under $950, it didn’t matter. Now it will.”
Future ORCTF operations have been planned with retailers across Ventura County over the coming weeks. “Going into the holidays, a lot more people come out to shopping centers—last minute shoppers.” Tapia said law enforcement always anticipates some criminal activity during this time. “I think it’s going to continue. I don’t think it’s going to be unique to Black Friday.”
In Northern California, detectives with the Modesto Police Department Property Crimes Unit worked in concert with a number of local retailers to take down 34 suspects for organized retail theft and other property crimes over the weekend, up from 26 arrested during the same period last year.
According to a statement from the department, the holiday sales kicked off a “maximum enforcement period” that will last until the end of 2024.
The Property Crimes Unit, which has been bolstered by California’s $267-million investment in localized organized retail theft squads, will work with the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office on prosecution.
“The goal of these operations to hold offenders accountable for their actions, while increasing the safety to our community who want to go out and enjoy what our businesses have to offer during the holiday season,” said Sergeant Mike Hicks, who supervises the Property Crimes Unit.
“We will take a zero-tolerance approach during this enforcement period, ensuring those who seek to take advantage of our community are taken off of the streets. Not in Modesto.”
