California Attorney General Partners with Retailers to Combat Organized Theft Rings

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a partnership between the Justice Department and over a dozen retailers and online marketplaces to combat organized retail crime in the state.
The agreement calls for retailers and online marketplaces to work with the state to help identify stolen goods being resold online and establish an online portal for consumers to report suspected theft activity.
The retailers and marketplaces agree to take steps aimed at increasing detection and reporting of organized retail crime, and to collaborate on information sharing and investigation of organized retail crime.
Companies that signed on include CVS Health, Rite Aid, Walgreens, The Home Depot, Albertsons and Safeway, Target, Meta, Amazon, eBay, OfferUp, Mercari and Etsy.
The announcement raised questions about the effectiveness of recent criminal justice reform measures that lowered criminal penalties and prison populations and their impact on high-profile brazen thefts and robberies.