On August 29th, San Bruno Police Department (PD), made several arrests as responding officers, being alerted to a theft in progress, detained the three suspects responsible; a 23-year-old adult, an 18-year-old adult, and a 16-year-old juvenile, all female San Francisco residents. The ensuing investigation revealed the organized retail theft nature of their crimes, resulting in their arrests. The adult suspects were booked into the San Mateo County Jail while the juvenile suspect was released to an adult family member with a future court appearance date, as detailed in a press release from San Bruno Police Department on the same day.
San Bruno is far from alone in facing this critical issue, with most Californian communities sharing in the burden. The reality of organized retail theft rings in the state has led the San Bruno PD, San Mateo PD, and Daly City PD to jointly apply for a grant offered by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) to combat this prevalent problem, according to the FB post of the San Bruno Police Department. San Bruno, Daly City, and San Mateo – home to San Mateo County’s three regional shopping centers – are frequent targets for such thefts.
If the funds are awarded, these three agencies plan to establish a joint task force that will leverage a variety of tools, technologies, and strategies aiming to significantly reduce retail theft in all three cities, and throughout San Mateo County.
