Modesto gets $6M to combat organized retail theft rings. Here’s how it plans to use money
The Modesto Police Department is receiving $6 million from a new state program that targets organized retail thieves as well as those who steal cars and their components, like catalytic converters.
The City Council on Tuesday accepted the money from the Board of State and Community Corrections Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant program.
The grants are competitive, and of 114 law enforcement agencies that applied for funding, Modesto was one of 38 to get it.
The Police Department already conducts these operations, but the $6 million lets it expand efforts over the the three-year life of the grant.
Organized retail theft is a growing problem throughout California. Late last year, the Sisk Road BevMo was hit several times by a retail theft crew. “They were tracked down to an address in Stockton ... and eventually $14,000 in stolen alcohol was returned,” according to Modesto’s application.
Police Lt. Bob Meredith said a crew from Contra Costa County stole about $12,000 in goods from Dick’s Sporting Goods at Vintage Faire Mall a couple of weeks ago. He said police tracked down the thieves and took them into custody.
In a typical year, Meredith said, the Police Department might do a half dozen operations at major retail centers, such as Vintage Faire, as well as others during the November-December holiday shopping season. He said a big operation could have eight officers. That includes officers in plainclothes.
The grant pays for the department to conduct at least two of these retail and auto theft operations each month, using a dozen officers who will work overtime, Meredith said. It also expands the department’s operations during the holiday shopping season.
About half of the grant will be spent on technology and equipment, including buying more license plate readers. The department has 13 installed at intersections at or near retail sites. The grant will increase that to 38 such intersections. The department also will buy more cameras and other gear.
Focus on major retail centers
The operations will focus on the city’s major retail centers: Vintage Faire, the 3900 block of Sisk Road, which has a Target and Best Buy, and the Pelandale Avenue shopping center with Costco and Lowe’s.
Meredith said operations also will be conducted along McHenry Avenue in the area from Bowen to Briggsmore that includes Safeway and the Burlington department store, as well as the area at Sylvan/Standiford where stores include Target and Marshalls.
The grant pays for hiring a police civilian investigator and the use of one of the department’s crime and intelligence analysts. This will help the department track trends and hot spots to hold operations at other retail sites.
The program’s goals include reducing organized retail theft by 10% each year and auto theft and the theft of catalytic converters and other auto components by 5% each year. Meredith said eight retailers have agreed to provide data to show the reductions. He said they asked that their names not be released.
The grant application includes more than a dozen letters in support, including ones from Save Mart, Vintage Faire, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Walgreens and Rite Aid. The program includes meetings every two months with retailers to improve communications among themselves and with the police.
Meredith said the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office received a $1.56 million three-year state grant as part of this effort, which includes dedicating a prosecutor to handle the cases from start to finish.
Meredith said the Police Department also will work with the Sheriff’s Department, which did not apply for funding.
For instance, he said, they could conduct an operation at Riverbank’s Crossroads Regional Shopping Center because retail theft rings that hit Modesto also hit nearby communities. The city of Riverbank contracts with the Sheriff’s Department for police services.
