Carlsbad Police Department joins NM Attorney General's Office to fight retail crimes

Carlsbad's Police Department joined a statewide retail crime task force organized by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office designed to combat a crime which cost New Mexico businesses around $1 billion in 2021.

The Organized Retail Crime (ORCTF) Task Force is a statewide initiative dedicated to the identification, investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of individuals and enterprises engaged in organized retail crime, read a press release from New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas.

City of Carlsbad Police Chief Shane Skinner said the Attorney General’s office requested his department be part of ORCTF as an affiliate member.

More: Meet Carlsbad's new K9 officers: Echo, Syrene, Bishop and Okus

"An affiliate membership is specifically designed for agencies that want to participate in the ORCT, but do not currently have the resources or manpower to dedicate their agency to the task force full time," said Jerri Mares, spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office.

"The affiliate position allows for a point of contact between the agency and the Task Force for information sharing and case work coordination."

Carlsbad City Councilors approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining membership in the ORCTF during a May 10 meeting.

"We welcome the opportunity to partner with the Carlsbad Police Department and are encouraged by their participation in the Task Force," Mares said.

The Los Lunas Police Department and Sandoval County Sheriff's Office approved MOU's and joined the Task Force, according to Mares.

She said police departments in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Santa Fe helped with the Task Force.

"AG Balderas has taken aggressive action against organized retail crime, vowing to hold violent repeat offenders responsible, and it’s the Attorney General’s dedication to our state’s public safety and economic security that are the driving force behind the Task Force," she said.

Skinner said Carlsbad Police could now coordinate with ORCTF on investigations and share information with other agencies assisting the Attorney General’s office.

More: Carlsbad man gets probation for shoplifting and receiving stolen generators

He said organized retail crime included people acting alone or with others engaging in shoplifting, theft, and embezzlement of stolen merchandise.

"New Mexico’s families are negatively impacted by the consequences of organized retail crime, and we have found that the offenders responsible for these crimes are not limited by jurisdictional boundaries or any specific type of crime," Mares said.

"Coordinating efforts, utilizing data, sharing information, and providing resources, education and expertise are just some of the ways the task force benefits the State, municipalities and counties," she said.

OCR notes success in 2022

On Feb. 4, Balderas said investigators made 17 arrests and recovered nearly $5,000 of stolen merchandise and three stolen vehicles in Albuquerque.

“New Mexico families deserve to shop safely, and we will continue to target dangerous criminals through coordinated law enforcement operations to increase the safety level in our communities,” Balderas said in a news release.

In March, OCR and the Albuquerque Police Department conducted Operation “Steal Back the City.”

More: Woman pleads guilty to using Kool-Aid packet to help shoplift from Artesia Walmart

The Task Force made 16 arrests, recovered two stolen motor vehicles, one handgun and nearly $3,000 in stolen merchandise from Albuquerque retailers.

Balderas announced an OCRTF arrest May 4 led to an indictment of an alleged Albuquerque area shoplifter.

Charamine Sanchez allegedly participated in six separate shopliftings in Albuquerque in late 2021.

Balderas said merchants estimated losses of nearly $8,000 from her alleged actions.

Noting on Albuquerque’s success, Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway said being part of OCRTF was a good move for Carlsbad residents.

More: Artesia man charged with criminal trespass for third time at Walmart

“It will allow our police force to work with the state agency specifically when targeting organized retail crime,” Janway said.

“We have benefitted greatly from such partnerships in the past and believe this will help us better serve the public,” he said.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.

Sign up for our newsletter, the Daily Briefing, to get stories like this one delivered straight to your inbox every morning. https://profile.currentargus.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Carlsbad joins NM Attorney general to right retail crime