Full Notification

Multi-Million Dollar Grant Approved to Combat Organized Retail Theft
 
Multi-Agency grant proposal was approved awarding 8 million dollars to enhance efforts in addressing Organized Retail Theft.  
 
San Mateo, CA –The Daly City, San Bruno, and San Mateo Police Departments are pleased to announce the approval of a grant aimed at combating organized retail theft within our communities.  This funding, awarded through the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), will enable local law enforcement officers to implement targeted initiatives to reduce the incidence of organized retail crime, ensuring a safer retail environment for both businesses and residents.   
 
Organized Retail Theft is an epidemic that affects communities across the nation.  These brazen criminal activities pose a potential threat to public safety and harm the stability of businesses.  The cities of Daly City, San Bruno, and San Mateo have large shopping centers along the Peninsula and Organized Retail Theft has been on the rise.  Due to the increase of theft in our communities and shopping centers, we began to collaborate and share information between our police departments to address these issues and apprehend the suspects responsible.  To further our collaborative efforts, the three police departments applied for a multi-agency grant from BSCC to support our efforts in preventing and investigating Organized Retail Theft. 
 
San Mateo Police Chief Ed Barberini said, “The challenges associated with Organized Retail Theft continue to grow.  While the San Mateo Police Department has experienced recent success in proactively addressing this issue, additional resources will significantly support this effort.  The San Mateo, Daly City, and San Bruno Police Departments continually face similar dynamics that are unique compared to other local jurisdictions.  I am extremely encouraged by this collaborative approach among the three departments and am confident it will result in both a short-term and sustainable impact on this type of coordinated criminal activity.” 

The grant, totaling just over 8 million dollars, will be used to fund various programs, update investigative tools, and start an Organized Retail Theft Task Force.  

“I am exceedingly grateful for this generous grant award and for the work of the BSCC in coming to the aid of local police departments like ours as we strive to address the increase in theft-related crime over the last several years. San Mateo County policing agencies have a storied history of effective collaboration in taking on issues that affect us regionally, and this joint effort among the San Mateo, Daly City, and San Bruno Police Departments is yet another example of this approach. As the three Peninsula cities with large regional shopping centers, we feel that a taskforce-based approach, coupled with the deployment of proven technologies, is the most effective way to address the shared challenges that those centers bring. I am confident that this generous funding from the BSCC will enable us to significantly reduce the impacts of theft in our communities and throughout the region,” said San Bruno Police Chief Ryan Johansen.    

We recognize the importance of addressing organized retail theft and this grant will provide the necessary resources to make our communities safer.  We are committed to utilizing this grant to its fullest extent and will work tirelessly to combat this criminal activity. 
 
“The Daly City, San Bruno, and San Mateo Police Departments recognized the challenges facing our region related to various theft-related crimes. Collectively, our agencies face unique challenges as a result of the major retail centers within our cities. While in collaboration with the County as a whole, our agencies required innovative technological solutions, advanced equipment, and additional enforcement options to better serve our communities. We are excited and appreciative of the opportunities the BSCC has provided us.. As a result, our agencies will have access to robust data aggregation systems, crime tracking, and prevention solutions, and the much-needed ability to staff targeted details to educate community stakeholders and enforce theft-related laws,” said Acting Daly City Police Chief Cameron Christensen. 
 
The San Mateo, Daly City, and San Bruno Police Departments are dedicated to serving and protecting the residents and businesses of our cities.  Our mission is to uphold the law, preserve public safety, and enhance the quality of life in our communities through collaborative efforts with our residents and partners.