What started off as another day on the beat for Mall Cop Paul Blart is rapidly escalating into a job better suited for Axel Foley.
Flash mob robberies, a worrying retail crime spree across Los Angeles and an increasing number of vacant Beverly Hills stores have forced Southern Californian law enforcement into action.
LA retailers have been contending with a worrying surge in crime, notably a spate of shocking incidents across the City of Angels in August, prompting the formation of a task force specifically focused on retail crime.
Comprising the LA Police Department, the LA County Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Marshals Apprehension Task Force and the FBI Apprehension Task Force, 22 full-time investigators have been assigned to deal with the upsurge in retail robberies.
On the very same day of the announcement, flash mobs hit an LA Macy’s department store at Sherman Oaks, with hooded thieves grabbing merchandise before fleeing the Westfield Fashion Square shopping center in two cars.
As law enforcement cracks down on these types of robberies, officers have also made a string of arrests, including six thieves who robbed an East LA Nike
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And on Sept 1., the California Highway Patrol (CHP) seized an estimated $200,000 of products that had been taken mainly from Victoria’s Secret
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Indeed, along with the retail crime task force, California Gov. Gavin Newsom had previously announced the state would also be utilizing CHP resources.
“The state is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to crack down on organized crime and when our local partners need further assistance, we’re ready with a helping hand,” Newsom said in a statement.
Retail Flash Mob Crime In LA
Among recent incidents of organized retail crime, more than 30 masked robbers stole over $100,000 worth of merchandise from Nordstrom
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In an update, Nordstrom CEO Erik Nordstrom slammed the incident and stressed: “Certainly, what happened in our Topanga store is disturbing to all of us. The safety of employees and customers is always a top priority. But the loss is a concern.”
He said that the retailer was facing “historic highs” in shoplifting across its stores, while the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office said there had been at least 170 organized retail thefts in its jurisdiction between Fall 2021 and Aug. 16.
Luxury brand Yves Saint Laurent was also hit at the Americana at Brand mall in Glendale on Aug. 8 in which “at least 30 suspects flooded into the store” and stole $400,000 worth of goods according to a Glendale Police Department statement.
Subsequently, Ivan Issac Ramirez was arrested and charged with organized retail theft, burglary, grand theft and conspiracy and a warrant was issued for his alleged co-conspirator Brianna Jimenez.
There is increasing concern that unless the tide is stemmed, prime retail destinations in Los Angeles could go the way of the deeply troubled San Francisco city center further up the Californian coast.
Beverly Hills Vacancies Rise
Amid the crime wave, vacancies in Beverly Hills have risen along the super-exclusive Rodeo Drive and surrounds, with units formerly occupied by Barneys, Escada, Chanel, Rite Aid
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“What we’ve seen…in the City of Los Angeles and in surrounding regions is unacceptable. These are not victimless crimes – especially in the case where Angelenos were attacked through force or fear – as they did their jobs or ran errands,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.
However, the problem is not isolated to Los Angeles.
Retailers nationwide experienced a 26% leap in organized retail crime incidents between 2020 and 2021 according to the National Retail Federation, which stressed in its most recent report: “There has been a dramatic increase across the nation in the number of large-scale, targeted thefts using methods of coordinated and planned attacks on retailers.”
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