Retailors track down the thieves

 Jazz Shaw:

We’ve provided plenty of coverage here of the ongoing plague of smash and grab, mass retail theft that’s been taking place across the country for the past few years. California is arguably the epicenter of this phenomenon, particularly after they decriminalized the theft of less than $950 worth of merchandise. Organized shoplifting rings have run rampant since then, with few suspects being apprehended and even fewer ever seeing the inside of a jail cell due to lax prosecution and “bail reform” laws. Many stores have simply given up and shut down their operations after being cleaned out so often.

But what do these thieves do with the mountains of merchandise they carry off? I’d been under the impression that most of it is sold off cheaply on street corners, and at least some of it certainly is. But an investigation by NBC News reveals that most of these thieves don’t need to risk selling the loot themselves. Many take their stolen goods to top-level distribution bosses who pay them low prices and resell the products online. And some of these bosses are now being prosecuted, but not because normal law enforcement caught up to them on their own. The larger retail stores have been conducting lengthy, high-tech investigations using their own security forces and turning over the information to the feds. One such retail theft boss in Georgia was Robert Whitley, who racked up millions in dollars in stolen merchandise with a huge warehouse to handle it all. And now he and his daughter are heading to prison.
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The stores getting hit repeatedly by the smash and grab gangs have been hiring their own security forces headed up by former law enforcement officers. They collect video surveillance footage and other electronic data to follow the thieves and stake out places where people like “Mr. Bob” (Whitley) exchange cash for goods. Then they follow the kingpins back to their lair and begin collecting evidence that they turn over to the FBI.
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California is governed by idiots who have facilitated crime.  It looks like some of the retailers were smart enough to rundown those who profited from the thefts.