[ad_1]
The city of San Francisco on Wednesday announced new efforts to curb retail shoplifting, including increasing investigative staff and reporting efforts.
Among the initiatives, the San Francisco Police Department’s reporting system, which allows businesses to report retail crimes, will be updated so that businesses can report thefts more easily online.
In addition, the Police Department’s Retail Organized Crime Unit will increase its staff from two to six. “to better investigate crime at the local level and to work regionally with the California Highway Patrol Organized Crime Task Force,” according to a statement from the office of the mayor of San Francisco, London Breed.
A community ambassador program run by the San Francisco Police Department, which recruits retired officers to patrol the city, will also increase its number from eight to 25.
“Retail theft and commercial burglaries are not victimless crimes,” Breed said in a statement. “They have hurt working families with reduced working hours, store closings and job losses. They harm customers and the elderly who lose convenient access to prescription drugs and vaccines due to drug store closures. They are hurting neighborhoods suffering from fewer local retailers and more empty storefronts. “
“The strategy we are describing today is a comprehensive approach that uses the full partnership of state and local law enforcement and retailers to aggressively pursue, investigate and deter organized retail crime in San Francisco,” she continued. .
The initiatives come as the city seeks to counter its image of being soft on crime, the Associated Press reported.
Crime in the city from January 1 to September 19 increased by more than 2% compared to the same period last year, according to police data. Theft is up 3.6% and burglary is up almost 1%. Thefts, however, were down 7 percent.
[ad_2]
Source link