Walnut Creek Plan To Combat 'Organized Retail Crime'

Walnut Creek CA

02 August, 2021

1:52 PM

Description

WALNUT CREEK, CA — Walnut Creek police want to increase its presence in Nordstrom at Broadway Plaza, after a series of "grab and run" thefts officials believe may be connected to "organized retail crime groups." The city council will have to sign off on the increased police presence, which would be budgeted over the next year and come through voluntary overtime from officers, estimated to cost $231,514. Nordstrom would fully reimburse that amount to the city in quarterly payments. The council will take up the matter at its Tuesday meeting. A staff report for the meeting says vehicles belonging to the same groups targeting high end stores around the Bay Area, have been captured on video casing Broadway Plaza. "These thefts have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost property and a perception that Nordstrom may be unsafe for patrons," the report says. "The Walnut Creek Nordstrom has experienced instances of this type of crime. Nordstrom security staff and management is concerned about the safety of their employees and their customers." Officers volunteering for the assignment would be in uniform and subject to the regular police chain of command, which wouldn't require services outside their regular duties to the public. Officers would be enforcing state and local laws, not private rules, regulations and procedures of Nordstrom. Nothing precludes the officers from responding to other emergencies in the city. The agreement would last from Aug. 4, 2021 to Aug. 4, 2022. The Walnut Creek City Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, at the council chamber at 1666 North Main Street, Walnut Creek. Face masks are required. The meeting can also be seen in at www.zoom.us, webinar ID 829 0337 7920, passcode 167071. Copyright © 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.