Alameda County DA visits Union City Walmart to learn how store fights organized retail crime

UNION CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson toured the Union City Walmart on Tuesday to learn how the store is working to prevent organized retail crime, with the goal of helping the DA's office better prosecute those cases.

"When we talk about organized retail theft, it's not some young person who walks in and takes something. I'm not concerned about that. I'm concerned about people who are making a living doing this," Jones Dickson said.

The concern is focused on boosting, which involves professional shoplifters who are part of organized retail crime rings and steal merchandise to resell for profit.

Walmart executives showed what they are doing to prevent theft and explained current crime trends.

"Probably the most unique thing I see stolen from the Walmart in California is spam. Spam and instant coffee. That has been very unique to California," said Britany Scogland, an executive with Walmart's Market Asset Protection Operations. "When we lock up men's jeans, they move to women's jeans. We lock up women's jeans, they move to children's jeans. So certain categories, we have to do a blanket approach."

MORE: Gov. Gavin Newsom to invest $267 million in several dozen cities to combat organized retail theft

Scogland also explained that Tide, a popular laundry detergent, must be locked up due to theft, but unlike other items, securing it did not cause thieves to switch to alternatives.

Cosmetics are small, in high demand and easy to resell. Jones Dickson walked through the cosmetics area to learn how the floor plan and additional security cameras act as deterrents.

"It was like a bullpen. So it's hard to get in and get out that area, of stealing all of those things. So, if that's a case that we receive, in the back of my head, I'm thinking to myself: 'Is this an inside job? Is somebody helping them do this?'" Jones Dickson said.

"A couple of years ago, we were at a peak. In the last several years, we have seen those numbers come down," said Nathan Smith, lead counsel for Walmart.

Smith attributed some of the decrease to Proposition 36, California's recently passed tough-on-crime ballot measure. Jones Dickson added that organized retail crime requires regional collaboration to prosecute effectively.

MORE: Rising Bay Area retail theft prompts San Mateo Co. supervisor to start task force

"We can't, just in Alameda County, solve the problem. Because the folks who are boosting, are doing it throughout California. Some are flying from the Bay Area to LA to do it," Jones Dickson said.

Jones Dickson has been touring different retailers over the past few months, including Whole Foods.

"When I was at Whole Foods a couple of months ago, I was fascinated to find out that the store in Oakland had the highest loss of any of their 550 stores in three countries," Jones Dickson said. "So, for me, that's something to know - although it had been coming down. So those numbers are coming down. We are doing something right. But what can we do to help that store stay in place so that people have a place to go to the grocery store, right, in that area."

Next week, she meets with Macy's.