Police focus efforts on retail theft

SEAL BEACH POLICE

During the 2023 holiday season, the Seal Beach Police Department conducted several of what it calls “organized retail crime directed enforcement operations.” Those operations resulted in multiple arrests, recovered stolen vehicles and recovered stolen merchandise.

Organized retail crime is a growing problem in California, with estimated losses totaling $8.7 billion, according to shopping research by Capital One.

The City of Seal Beach is experiencing a noticeable increase in retail crime events, including pushouts, return scams, and grab-and-runs, according to SBPD. To address this growing problem, the department has partnered with local retailers to deploy proactive enforcement operations to gather intelligence, identify suspects and arrest offenders.

During the months of October, November and December 2023, the Seal Beach Detective Division conducted six enforcement operations—which consist of police conducting surveillance in retail establishments and enforcing retail crimes as they occur by apprehending thieves with zero tolerance. The operations resulted in 25 arrests, two recovered stolen vehicles, five identified suspects related to crimes outside of Seal Beach, and $13,300 in recovered stolen merchandise.

“Throughout the holiday season, combating escalating organized retail crime enforcement becomes increasingly important to ensure the safety of our community,” Chief Michael Henderson said.

This is an ongoing operation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Jeff Gibson at 562-7994100, ext. 1172, or jgibson@sealbeachca.gov.