Shoplifting drops from historic highs, but Los Angeles stores keep getting hit

City on pace for more than 10,000 thefts for second consecutive year; department and clothing stores are frequently targeted
Crime
By

Illustration of someone stealing something and putting it in an orange coat

 

A year ago at this time, Los Angeles was suffering from an epidemic of retail theft. The Los Angeles Police Department was frequently recording more than 1,000 shoplifting reports every month, up from approximately 550 in the years before the pandemic. In August 2023 Mayor Karen Bass teamed with regional law enforcement agencies to form the Organized Retail Crimes Task Force.

 

The city appears to be making some headway against shoplifting, but only to a degree. From Jan. 1–Sept. 30, there were 8,161 shoplifting reports, according to publicly available LAPD data. That is down 9.4% from the same time the previous year.

 

However, the current total marks a 77.4% increase over the equivalent period in 2022, and also is vastly higher than in the pre-COVID years.

 

Bar chart of annual shoplifting reports in the city of Los Angeles in the period from Jan. 1–Sept. 30

 

Statewide response

For a long time shoplifting in the city held relatively steady. From 2015 through 2019, there were between 6,200 and 7,200 yearly incidents. 

 

Reports tumbled when stores closed early in the pandemic, but then started to rapidly increase, leading retailers to put everything from deodorant to baby formula behind glass. Last year there were more than 12,000 shoplifting reports in the city.

 

Bar chart of annual number of shoplifting reports in the city of Los Angeles in a calendar year

 

Shoplifting is only one type of retail crime, and is classified differently than attention-generating smash-and-grabs, or the flash mob thefts that recently targeted 7-Eleven stores across the region. 

 

Shoplifting also can take different forms: It could mean someone stealing shampoo from a convenience store to resell on a street corner; a hungry person taking food from a supermarket; or an organized group nabbing expensive handbags from a luxury retailer with the intent to hawk them online. At the same time, many incidents of shoplifting never get reported to the police. 

 

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Sometimes the situation escalates. In March an employee of a beauty supply store in the city of Commerce tried to stop four female shoplifters. The group responded by attacking and throwing the employee to the ground; she hit her head and lost consciousness for several days, according to a Los Angeles Times report. 

 

The issue extends beyond Los Angeles and has gained significant attention. In September 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the distribution of $267 million to law enforcement agencies across the state to crack down on the practice. This August, Newsom heralded a task force making more than 800 arrests and recovering $7.2 million worth of stolen goods.

 

The rise in shoplifting helped spur Proposition 36, the statewide measure which appeared on this month’s ballot, and which would increase penalties for some theft and drug crimes. It passed with nearly 69% approval.

 

Although numbers remain high, the LAPD has touted its progress against retail theft. In October the department announced the arrests of three individuals who had targeted a shoe store on Fourth Street in Boyle Heights. In May, officers arrested 11 people—between the ages of 19 and 57—for stealing from stores at the shopping center at Seventh and Figueroa streets in Downtown.

 

That fits with wider patterns. Department stores in the first nine months of the year were hit by shoplifters 2,565 times, accounting for 31.4% of the incidents in the city, according to LAPD data. The next-highest location was clothing stores, with 864 reports.

 

All manner of businesses are victimized. There were 117 reports of shoplifting in a liquor store, and 19 from a cell phone store.

 

Malls across town

In the first nine months of the year, Downtown was the site of 648 shoplifting reports, more than any other neighborhood in the city. Nearly 550 of those calls were in or around the mall at Seventh and Figueroa streets.

 

Other neighborhoods with high shoplifting figures also have department stores. That includes the Westside community of Sawtelle, which has a history of incidents on a block where a Target is located. Canoga Park, the site of a Westfield mall with more than 200 stores, regularly has an elevated number of shoplifting incidents.

 

Table of neighborhoods with most shoplifting incidents in the city of Los Angeles in the first 9 months of 2024

 

Of the reports in the city this year, 13% were classified as grand theft, meaning more than $950 worth of merchandise was taken, and allowing a case to be charged as a felony. 

 

Pie chart breaking down shoplifting by grand theft and petty theft in the city of Los Angeles.

 

Although shoplifting is prevalent, people being caught and prosecuted for the crime is not. According to police data, there have been approximately 800 arrests for shoplifting this year. More than 7,100 cases are classified as an ongoing investigation.

 

How we did it: We examined publicly available crime data from the Los Angeles Police Department from Jan. 1, 2018–Sept. 30, 2024. LAPD data only reflects crimes that are reported to the department, not how many crimes actually occurred. In making our calculations, we rely on the data the LAPD makes publicly available. LAPD may update past crime reports with new information, or recategorize past reports. Those revised reports do not always automatically become part of the public database.

 

Have questions about our data or want to know more? Write to us at askus@xtown.la.