San Francisco is about to get $17 million in funds from California to continue the fight against one of its most pervasive problems, which is organized retail thefts.
The city has often been the focus of viral videos showing rampant theft from various retailers.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the $17 million the state will provide will dramatically increase efforts to both catch and prosecute, retail thieves.
On Thursday, some residents and businesses said the help can't come fast enough. This includes San Francisco Teresa Lallana, who used to work retail in the city. Lallana said it wasn't uncommon to see thieves helping themselves to anything they want.
“Sometimes, the one with the sensor they remove it or sometimes, they don’t they just grab it and grab everything just go,” she said.
On Wednesday, in San Francisco, Gov. Gavin Newsom described the new state investment to fight organized retail crime.
“On retail theft new grants prosecution , we’re cracking down on retail theft,” he said. About $267 million dollars to 55 cities and counties was approved Thursday, including the $17 million for San Francisco.
According to the mayor’s office, the city's police department will get $15.3 million and the district attorney’s office will get $2 million to investigate and prosecute retail thieves.
The city says most of the funding will go toward expanding efforts to find and dismantle the large scale fencing operations that sell the stolen merchandise and help plan the thefts.
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Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of the Union Square Alliance, says changes came quickly after a high profile group theft here in 2021.
“We have the presence of police here and around the district it is not about protecting handbags. As I mentioned before, this is about supporting our community. This is about safety, this is about being a welcoming environment for all San Franciscans, Bay Area residents and employees," she said.
The funds are expected to start arriving next month.
