Sacramento Police Nab Nearly 400 Thieves in Operation ‘Hot August Nights’

Following a five-day sting-operation that spanned 15 retail locations, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Retail Crime Task Force said it’s recovered $22,000 in stolen merchandise and issued nearly 400 criminal citations.

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About 100 deputies staked out the California capital’s most heavily trafficked, highly targeted stores, from Target to Walmart, TJ Maxx, Ulta, Ross and Marshalls, trolling for criminal activity. They found it in spades, according to Sacramento Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sergeant Amar Gandhi, who said that “Operation Hot August Nights” resulted in 216 trespass notices, 240 misdemeanor charges and 20 felony charges.

Conducted between Aug. 19 and Aug 24, the operation (so named for a classic car show that takes place in Reno, Nev.) was developed in partnership with the local retail community.

“A lot of it is from the retailers reaching out to us, but also a very proactive and robust relationship we have with the retailers in our area,” Gandhi said, noting that the Retail Crime Task Force encourages two-way communication about crime trends including problem categories and times of day.

The “multifaceted” sting included plainclothes officers inside stores observing shoppers and monitoring CCTV cameras with loss-prevention personnel, along with arrest teams stationed outside of stores and marked units to deter criminal activity.

“We have huge manpower behind this.…These are very costly operations,” the sergeant said. “They cost a lot of money, but it’s a quality-of-life issue for residents where they’re sick of seeing higher prices, and they’re sick of seeing deodorant and things like that locked behind glass cases.”

Gandhi said Sacramento, like other California cities of a similar size, faces fewer smash-and-grabs and flash mobs than metropolitan hubs like nearby San Francisco . “You can’t paint a broad brush throughout the entire state, because everybody’s got a different set of unique issues based on their localities.”

“You go to somewhere like San Jose that’s got Santana Row, you go to L.A. where there’s the Fashion Center . Maybe they are experiencing a lot of these big things; we don’t have that,” he said. “We have Target getting victimized. We’ve got small businesses getting victimized.”

Gandhi characterized the cadence of retail crime in Sacramento as a “slow, steady trickle,” where repeat offenders often return to the same stores over and over again to grab handfuls of product or slip a pair of jeans over their own clothing—sometimes all within the span of the same day. The nature of the thefts suggests that much of the product taken is for personal use, though the Sheriff’s office also believes shoplifters are using online marketplaces to fence stolen goods regularly.

“Apparel is a big one, because the resale market on clothing is crazy—especially the name brand stuff,” Gandhi said. “We talk about Lululemon all the time—this high-end, expensive clothing—you find it on eBay or Facebook marketplace, or some of these other places for next to nothing.”

During Operation Hot August Nights, deputies also arrested Yubo Tian, a Chinese national who the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office believes is a part of an international crime syndicate engaged in a national gift-card scam. Gift cards are stolen from retailers, their barcodes are scanned, and the cards are replaced in stores for unsuspecting customers to purchase. When the cards are activated, the funds are siphoned.

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According to Gandhi, Yubo was arrested with 6,300 gift cards in his possession from retailers across the U.S. Such crimes often go unreported.

Gandhi stressed that the retail community’s active participation is essential to law enforcement operations like the one conducted last week. Both parties have faced a learning curve; last fall, Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper called out the city’s local Target for placing optics above shopper safety when it demanded that deputies arrest thieves outside of the store instead of in front of shoppers during a sting operation.

But Gandhi said the issue has since been resolved. “I think smoothed out is an understatement; they are fantastic partners in all of this now, because I think they see the effectiveness of these operations,” he said. “They understand the intent behind these operations is not to embarrass people, per se, or create a negative perception” of a store.

“We want to enforce the law, and I think their customers now are demanding it—they’re fed up,” the sergeant added. “They want to see a change, not just from legislation, not just from lawmakers—but from these retailers and especially these large chains, which have a significant amount of culpability and control over this.”

Statewide legislation does have a major role to play, though, and Gandhi said the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office is intent on seeing Prop. 36 , the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, passed in the next election. The petition, brought by California voters, provides some antidotes to the 10-year-old Prop. 47 , including harsher sentences for serial thieves.

Operation Hot August Nights underscores the need for reform, he said.

“We caught nearly 400 people during this operation, the majority of which were released by citation as if they ran stop sign,” he added. “There are reforms in place right now that are going on the ballot in November, with Prop. 36 widely supported by law enforcement because it really targets the repeat offenders. Right now, we are seeing folks who were arrested previously doing this over and over again, because there’s no repercussions.”

Gandhi commended California Governor Gavin Newsom’s passage of 10 retail theft bills earlier this month, calling them “great steps in the right direction.”

“We support that legislation because they’re trying to make sure that there is an impact on retail theft and these criminals—straight, clean punishments,” he said. “But the voter referendum is going to carry the most weight. Prop. 47 was enacted by voters, and can only be changed by voters.”

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