The San Jose Police Department is reinforcing its organized retail theft detail, which means more officers in uniform walking around malls and storefronts.
The goal is to curb the rise in retail theft and catch crooks in the act.
"We’re hoping that these patrols will assist not only in building relationships with business owners and community members who are going shopping, but also just be a visual deterrent," San Jose police Officer Steve Aponte said.
In San Jose, retail thefts increased 25% last year compared to 2021.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
"They’re fast, they’re violent, and they’re disturbing," Aponte said. "These types of criminals come in with the sole purpose of taking property away from businesses. But in doing so, they deter future shoppers from coming to the area."
The department is using state grant money to pay for the additional overtime patrols. It's also paying for a specialized unit of investigators looking deeper into these crimes. Those funds also help pay for the license plate readers that are currently up at malls around the city.
The expanded team will work six hours per day, four days a week.
Local
The department won’t be more specific for strategic reasons, only to say officers will see the crooks before the crooks see them.
