‘Increased levels of theft’
Local retailers report pilfering similar to trends seen in larger cities
The statewide trend in brazen shoplifting and theft has made its way to Humboldt County.
Violent smash-and-grab shoplifting costs California businesses millions of dollars annually. Just last month, Walgreens announced that it would close five of its stores in San Francisco due to widespread shoplifting in its stores. A woman was arrested at a Target store in San Francisco last week after allegedly stealing more than $40,000 worth of merchandise over the course of 120 visits to the store.
The Times-standard received an anonymous tip from a reader this week who claimed the Target in Eureka had experienced a notable increase in theft as well.
Eureka Police spokesperson Brittany Powell confirmed the reader’s claims and said, “We’ve been working very closely with Target to come up with an action plan.”
“The Eureka Police Department is aware of increased levels of theft at local retailers,” Powell said. “We have been developing action plans internally on how to address the issues, speaking with retail managers, and working with the District Attorney’s office. Action plans will include increased patrol, undercover operations, and informational media campaigns.”
Target spokesperson Kayla Castaneda also confirmed that the company is “engaging with local law enforcement to address the increase in theft incidents at our Eureka store,” adding that “the safety of our guests, team members and communities is our top priority.”
When asked how Target addresses shoplifting, whether employees are tasked with confronting shoplifters or if the company relies on security or local law enforcement to handle theft, Castaneda said, “Our security teams in every store are trained to maintain a safe shopping environment and protect
against theft.”
“While we don’t share the specific details of our security procedures, our teams contact local law enforcement whenever a guest or team member’s safety is in question or if a situation is disrupting our business,” she added. “We also invest time and resources in our store leaders and security team members so they can protect themselves and deescalate potential safety issues.”
Target isn’t the only store that has seen an increase in shoplifting.
“We have seen reports of theft in many local retailers, which is unfortunately common during the holiday season,” Powell said. “If a shopper happens to be a witness to shoplifting, it is best to keep a safe distance and gather a detailed description to provide to a store employee.”
However, based on the store’s policy on theft, “crimes are not always reported to law enforcement making it difficult to gauge the totality of the situation,” she added.
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Samantha Karges agreed and said, “We do know a lot of shoplifting incidents go unreported.”
She added that the Sheriff’s Office has seen a 2% uptick in theft-related crime in the last year.
Arcata Police Chief Brian Ahearn said there has been an increase in “brazen” thefts, similar to what has been reported at Target in
Eureka, and said such cases usually occur in grocery stores.
“Some folks will grab alcohol, food or both and simply walk out and ignore demands from employees to stop,” he said. “These types of grab-and-walk-away crimes are not the norm in Arcata but just a few days ago a male walked out the back door of a bar with two alcoholic drinks; drinks they did not pay for.”
When asked how APD becomes involved in a shoplifting case, Ahearn said police would make an arrest “if the victim chooses to place the suspect under citizens’ arrest and participate in the prosecutorial process.”
“In many cases, the victim chooses not to,” he said. “They simply would like to get their property back and move on with their lives. The recent legislation signed into law by Gov. Newsom is a helpful tool for combatting organized retail theft. That is not a trend in Arcata. Organized retail theft occurs primarily in metropolitan areas by criminal enterprises.”
Generally speaking, Ahearn described thefts in Arcata as being “cyclical.”
“For example, we experienced, inexplicably, a rash of catalytic converter thefts for a period of about two to three months. Some attributed it to the increase in recycling payouts for certain metals,” he said. “Motor vehicle thefts are now on the rise. Since Oct. 31, auto thefts in Arcata are
up 121% from the same period in 2020. Perhaps this is due to the city’s continual re-opening from the COVID shutdown resulting in additional vehicles in the city in which to steal.”
Property thefts are up as well. Ahearn said the bulk of APD’S theft cases involve unsecured bicycles or tools that were stolen from someone’s home or vehicle.
Ahearn said crime levels remained above 2020 but are declining.
“In June 2021, violent crime was up 47% from 2020 levels and property crimes — which includes theft — were up 29%,” he said. “This was a reduction though from the 134% increase in property crime in January, 63% increase in February and 46% increase in March 2021 compared to the same months in 2020.”
The steady decline in reported property crime has continued to fall. In August, Ahearn said there was a 22% increase from 2020, an 18% increase from 2020 in September and a 4% increase from 2020 in October.
“The number of reported theft cases continues to decline as the year progresses,” Ahearn said.
The law enforcement representatives interviewed for this story encouraged community members to keep valuables out of vehicles to discourage vehicle-related theft.