December 20, 2021
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Katie Miller
213-973-8759
Candidate for Sheriff Britta Steinbrenner announces her policy plan to combat the Smash & Grab crimes plaguing Los Angeles County
As seen in media reports, across Los Angeles County, cities have been affected by “Smash and Grab Robberies” that have terrified business owners, shoppers, and the General Public.
“We need a Sheriff and our Elected Officials to work together to combat this lawlessness regionally. I have drafted a Regional Plan of Attack to fight this crime trend and serve as a model for other regions throughout California.”
My plan as Sheriff consists of:
1. Work with the state legislature, and District Attorney to create Laws to specifically address Smash and Grab and Mob Criminal Activity. These types of crimes are simply put, Organized Crime within a mob type setting. We need to work together to put teeth into existing laws or formulate new laws and for the District Attorney to file these types of cases for prosecution.
2. Create a Cybercrime Unit Taskforce that will track stolen goods that are sold online from these Smash and Grab robberies. This Task Force will monitor these types of robberies and the Sheriff will assign additional units to support other law enforcement agencies to catch these criminals.
3. Create a Centralized Command Center where other departments can report these Smash and Grab robberies that take place within the Los Angeles County Region and neighboring counties such as Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside. We have the resources to track data and working relationships with other City Police Departments to see commonalities, trends and potentially identify these types of criminals. This will become the access point of information to track these crimes and individuals who commit these crimes.
4. The LA County Sheriff’s Department should conduct High Visibility Saturation Patrols based upon the crimes reported and trends that relate to the types of merchandise that is being stolen.
5. Create a Toll-Free Hotline (for example: 1-800#) that the public can call to report:
a. What they believe to be stolen goods being sold online
b. Any type of criminal activity or potential suspects participating in these types of crimes anonymously.
This Hotline will be established so residents and business owners can be part of the solution.
I commend the governor for announcing the dedication of $330 million in grant money towards law enforcements crime fighting efforts. These plans fall in line with my commitment to address this lawlessness and the financial resources needed to combat this and other crime trends.
As Sheriff I will work together with elected officials, the business community, and the general public to protect the residents that we serve. I want to work with the District Attorney to make sure these criminals are prosecuted. In times like this, leaders need to lead, and given the opportunity I will lead us in this fight.
Please Visit my website at www.britta4sheriff.com to learn more about my strategy to help combat these Smash and Grab crimes.
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