Press Release | Press Conference Video | Video Surveillance of Yolo County Retail Thefts
Woodland, CA – March 7, 2024 – On Tuesday, March 5th, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, in collaboration with Yolo County law enforcement leaders and asset protection professionals from Walmart, held a press conference at the West Sacramento Walmart Supercenter, announcing the launch of an innovative new Direct-to-DA retailer reporting program designed to dramatically expedite the investigation and prosecution of retail crimes. The “FastPass to Prosecution” program was launched in the Fall of 2023 in partnership with several major retailers, including Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Raley’s, The Home Depot and several other retailers operating in Yolo County.
“Theft and other crimes against retailers have been worsening in California for some time. In fact, district attorneys, law enforcement and retailers are nearly unanimous in describing the current situation in California as chaotic and out-of-control. Not only has the level of theft increased dramatically, but thieves have become increasingly brazen and sometimes violent. The status quo approach to these crimes is not working,” said District Attorney Reisig.
FastPass was designed to provide retailers another option to report non-emergency crimes that have been investigated and documented internally, directly to the DA, who possesses the exclusive authority to file formal criminal complaints. FastPass is not designed to deter retailers from calling 911 in an emergency or reporting crimes to police and sheriffs, and nothing prevents law enforcement from responding, but because of factors outside the control of police and sheriffs, including high priority call volume and limited staffing, some police responses can be delayed or impractical.
“By utilizing the FastPass to prosecution model, we are able to dramatically expedite the investigation and filing of criminal cases and reduce the delay between the time of the crime, the arrest and prosecution. In some cases, it will cut the delay down from months to weeks or even days,” said Reisig.
Since the launch of FastPass last fall, the DA’s office has filed criminal cases against 49 suspects, including dozens of felony cases (60%), with total losses exceeding $100,000. These 49 individuals combined have over 134 previous theft convictions, and 93% of all the offenders have previous arrests including theft, burglary, robbery, violent assaults, and family violence. First time offenders are not generally part of the FastPass program.
Greg Totten, the CEO of the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA), who also spoke at the Tuesday press event, called the innovative approach “groundbreaking” and committed to promoting it as a promising best practice to other elected prosecutors across California.
Yolo County District Attorney is also one of three prosecutor’s offices in the nation, along with the Seattle City Attorney’s Office and the King County Prosecutor’s Office (WA), to be selected as a pilot site by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) for their Vibrant Communities Initiative (VCI). VCI, launched in 2023, is focused on improving collaboration between retailers, prosecutors, police, social service organizations, local policy makers and civic and business groups, and others – to tackle systemic drivers of retail crimes, enhance information sharing, prosecute habitual and violent offenders, and propose meaningful second chance opportunities to reduce recidivism.
“The FastPass to Prosecution project led by DA Jeff Reisig and his team in Yolo County is a perfect example of how retailers and law enforcement can collaborate to make communities safer. Every jurisdiction in the country is struggling with limited resources and limited personnel to address the problem of organized retail crime and habitual theft. FastPass can serve as model for prosecutors across the country for how to focus the limited resources of government in partnership with retail asset protection teams to target high-profile, prolific, and violent criminal actors in the community,” said Lisa LaBruno, Sr. Executive Vice President of Retail Operations, Retail Industry Leaders Association.
“We are dedicated to collaborating with retailers of all types, our law enforcement partners, and our communities in innovative ways to effectively address the retail crimes crisis that is harming our businesses and communities and undermining the sense of security and quality of life for so many. In this mission, we believe FastPass is a game-changer,” stated District Attorney Jeff Reisig.
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