PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — A $2 million dollar grant will help Placer County investigate and prosecute organized retail thieves.
The Placer County Board of Supervisors voted to accept the grant for the Placer County District Attorney’s Office’s Retail Theft Vertical Prosecution Program. The district attorney's office will use the grant to add a full-time deputy district attorney, a district attorney investigator and a crime analyst.
In Roseville, organized retail theft cases have increased 82% from May 2020 to April 2023, according to a staff report. The district attorney's office has had a 67% increase in cases involving retail theft that are referred for prosecution.
“Placer County is an incredible place to live, own a business, shop, and recreate,” Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire said in a statement. “This is why our county continues to be the home for large retail hubs like the Roseville Galleria Mall and its anchor stores, the Rocklin Commons Shopping Center, and all the vibrant small business districts in our cities and towns. It is critical we ensure the continued safety and economic vitality of our growing business community through proactive approaches to retail theft.”
The grant comes from the California Board of State and Community Corrections and is part of the state's $267 million investment to combat retail crime.
"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. When shameless criminals walk out of stores with stolen goods, they’ll walk straight into jail cells,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a previous statement.
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