Beverly Hills can be a magnet for organized retail crime due to its worldwide reputation as a luxury shopping destination, which is why the Beverly Hills Police Department is teaching businesses how to best protect themselves.
On July 17, BHPD Sgt. Jeffrey Newman led a training for small business owners in collaboration with officers from the California Highway Patrol’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force. During the program, Newman explained how to recognize common criminal strategies, effective witness tips and proactive theft protection measures.
Newman said that in recent years property crime has surged across the state and Beverly Hills is no exception. In fact, it is often seen as an ideal target due to the concentration of expensive goods and designer stores.
“It’s a very renowned city, with wealth and fancy businesses, nice restaurants,” he said. “There are people who specifically come to the city of Beverly Hills to commit their crimes, with the illusion that either they’re going to get away with it or that in general it’s more worth their time as a criminal.”
Fortunately, Newman added, Beverly Hills also happens to have one of the best police departments in the world with a multitiered strategy for addressing retail crime.
“We want to work as a police department and not only be reactive to crime that’s occurring in our city, but also be proactive,” he said. “We felt that it would be important to educate our business community on certain tips that they can take to keep their stores safe, keep their employees safe as well as prevent retail theft in any context.”
In the class, Newman discusses some of the common shoplifting signs to keep an eye out for.
For example, a car lingering on a red curb outside a business could be a getaway car waiting to whisk away a shoplifter or a person wearing a face mask could be a criminal looking to hide their identity from cameras. In addition, some thieves create “booster bags,” which are large bags lined with foil designed to deter the theft sensors businesses often have at the entrances to their stores.
“So, some of the things we tell business owners to look out for is if you see someone come in with a Calvin Klein bag, Nordstrom bag, maybe a Macy’s bag, know that we don’t have any of those businesses in the city of Beverly Hills and it could be your first sign something might not be correct,” he said.
It’s also good to know that criminals tend to work in pairs and use one person to distract the shopkeeper while the second steals goods, Newman continued. Closing time, in particular, is a key window shoplifters tend to target, he added.
Shopkeepers and residents are advised to always report suspicious behavior to BHPD, even if they are not sure whether a crime is happening, Newman said.
One challenge the department faces is the fact that businesses are sometimes reluctant to report retail theft if they feel like perpetrators are unlikely to face any criminal charges.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has made it a policy not to file many low-level misdemeanor charges including, at times, charges for theft. This is to reduce mass incarceration rates and not punish people for crimes committed due to the status of being homeless or addicted, Gascón has said.
In his first year in office, prosecutors filed 43% of misdemeanor cases presented by police compared to 86% under former DA Jackie Lacey.
Nevertheless, Newman urges all business owners to report any case of theft to the department, touting the motto “There’s no call too small.”
“We want our community to know it doesn’t matter whether the DA files the case or not, the Beverly Hills Police Department is there to take care of any criminal matter,” he said. “We want people to know to call us anytime they feel unsafe, or they witnessed a crime or victim of a crime, regardless of the severity of that crime.”
Oftentimes people who are reported for a minor crime turn out to have an arrest warrant out for their arrest or evidence connecting them to larger crimes. In addition, reporting petty theft or suspicious behavior provides the department with important data on where crimes are taking place that can be used to guide the deployment of resources.
“We provide our residents and our businesses with our contact numbers and that has been pivotal in finding and arresting suspects,” said Newman. “Year to date, arrests are down 30% and our overall crime rate is down 20%, so we know what we’re doing is working.”
