1 year ago
23
VISALIA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Visalia constabulary are touting their retail theft apprehension grounds during the vacation season; they arrested 102 radical and recovered astir $35,000 successful stolen goods.
Police Chief Jason Salazar says it is each portion of their yearly Holiday Madness Operation.
He says the section deploys an accrued fig of officers each twelvemonth during November and December, but successful 2024, they chose to absorption connected addressing retail theft.
“Not lone does it impact the businesses, but I deliberation it affects the community’s consciousness of safety,” Salazar said.
Despite a emergence successful online shopping, helium says retail theft is inactive a prevalent issue.
“It's been a immense problem, 1 that we've truly been trying to beryllium assertive successful addressing. And this twelvemonth we truly ramped it up,” Salazar said.
Catching the criminals is not enough, though; helium besides wants to deter radical from committing the transgression successful the archetypal place. He believes the recently enacted Prop 36 volition assistance with that.
“Prop 36 is simply a large instrumentality that the voters passed. I deliberation the voters made a connection that they were besides bushed of cause and theft enactment that's occurring successful our communities and they privation it to beryllium safer. And we afloat mean to usage that instrumentality to our advantage,” Salazar said.
Because of Prop 36, thefts nether $950 tin beryllium considered felonies if the suspect has 2 anterior theft convictions. Salazar says the bulk of those they apprehension for retail theft are repetition offenders.
Prop 36 went into effect successful mid-December, but in a caller interview, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward told Yourcentralvalley.com they person already charged astatine slightest 13 radical with felony theft who would person antecedently faced a misdemeanor charge.
“The gig is up. I don't mean to beryllium flippant astir it, but the world is, you know, we person filed felony charges connected radical that would different person conscionable been cited and released connected a misdemeanor petty theft,” Ward said.
Although the Holiday Madness Operation is over, Salazar says the section volition proceed moving to forestall retail theft passim the year.
He sees Prop 36 arsenic a adjuvant instrumentality successful that effort.
