Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office receives grant funding to combat rise of organized retail theft

Organized retail theft has haunted big box retailers and business owners across the country.

Videos of groups or individuals smashing display cases and store windows before grabbing as much merchandise as possible and rushing out have flooded social media, leaving retailers wondering what they can do to mitigate these crimes.

Multiple law enforcement agencies across California, including the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, received grant funding from the State of California’s Organized Retail Theft Grant Program administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections.

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office is one of the 12 prosecutor’s offices and 38 law enforcement agencies to be chosen for the grant and will receive just over $2 million beginning Oct. 1 and lasting through Sept. 30, 2026.

The office announced in a news release Monday that it will receive $2.05 million in grant money, which will be used to hire a prosecutor focused on organized retail theft cases in the county.

The prosecutor will also work with local law enforcement, retail operators and business owners to track these cases.

Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez told The Press Democrat Monday that an investigator will be brought on to work with that prosecutor as well.

She said, anecdotally, her office noticed an increase in smash-and-grab robberies, along with more juveniles cases because penalties are more lenient, since the passing of Proposition 47 in 2014.

It reclassified multiple nonviolent felonies — including many property crimes valued at $950 or less, grand theft, forgery, shoplifting and simple drug possession — to misdemeanors with lighter punishments.

Rodriguez said this proposition reduced the stakes for shoplifters as long as the total amount of stolen goods added up to $950 or less.

“Our business owners are terrified to do business and don’t feel protected by laws so I’m hoping that we’ll be able to help in some small, small degree make them feel safer,” she said.

Local law enforcement agencies have also noticed an uptick in cases since the passing of the law but tracking incidences can be difficult because they often go unreported by business owners.

Petaluma Police Department Lt. Garrett Glaviano said crews from out of the area have targeted several stores such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ulta Beauty and Petaluma Factory Outlets. He said the thieves will either continue on to Santa Rosa or in a number of cases, lead officers in a pursuit toward the Bay Area.

Sgt. Patricia Seffens with the Santa Rosa Police Department said there was a significant decrease in organized retail theft at the beginning of the pandemic. But once restrictions lifted, incidences climbed again.

“We’re going to have to work super hard to identify the worst offenders but hopefully this will give businesses that hope that we’re dedicating an attorney and an investigator to try and fight this type of crime,” Rodriguez said.

“Definitely report it (shoplifting) so we can start keeping tabs on the suspect … (and) work with our law enforcement partners to identify the repeat offenders to bring them to justice.”

You can reach Staff Writer Sara Edwards at 707-521-5487 or sara.edwards@pressdemocrat. com. On Twitter @sedwards380.