Police in San Jose will be adding extra patrols on overtime to combat organized retail theft, the department has announced last week.  

One sergeant and three officers will be patrolling local shopping centers and malls for six hours a day in the evening hours for four days a week on an ongoing basis, the department said. These patrols may change based on crime trends, holiday shopping and other factors. 

The San Jose Police Department said that statistics gathered in 2021 and 2022 showed “significant” increases in burglary and theft-related cases in the city. The department said that there were 4,610 reported retail theft cases in 2021, which then jumped to 5,756 in 2022, a 25 percent increase. 

Organized thefts can encompass shoplifting, commercial burglary, vehicle burglary, fencing of stolen goods and fraud.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.