Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, while announcing the formation of a new task force to combat these crimes, emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety of both shoppers and entrepreneurs. “No Angeleno should feel like it’s not safe to go shopping in Los Angeles,” she declared. “No entrepreneur should feel like it’s not safe to open a business.”
Assistant Sheriff Holly Francisco of Los Angeles underscored the critical role that the new funding plays in enabling law enforcement to respond effectively to large-scale, organized crimes that have the potential to turn violent.
“Recently, we’ve seen suspects use weapons consisting of firearms, pepper spray and bear spray to fend off employees or loss prevention officers and just cause chaos to the people shopping there,” she said Friday. “Our goal is to reduce the number of retail thefts and actively investigate all the criminals involved.”
