to shock a city. people were very scared. they were running as if there was an active shooter. reporter: police say the mob used bear spray to disarm security with 30 to 50 people ransacking the handbag section of the store stealing around $100,000 of high end inventory. l.a.p.d. promises to find those involved. is there any doubt in your mind this is organized crime, and has it become a lot more sophisticated? there s no doubt that this is organized. some of it involves gang members. some of it involves people that would identify as professional retail thieves. reporter: though the l.a. area alone has been battered by four such robberies in the last couple of weeks, it s been a national problem for years. from sledge hammers in new york city to san francisco s union square mayhem in 2021 to the sudden clothing grab in atlanta. heatha herzog wrote a book on the crime trend and points to
involved. is there any doubt in your mind this is organized crime, and has it become a lot more sophisticated? there s no doubt that this is organized. some of it involves gang members. some of it involves people that you would identify as professional retail thieves. reporter: though the l.a. area alone has been battered by at least four such robberies in the last couple of weeks, it s been a national problem for years. from sledge hammers in new york city to san francisco s union square mayhem in 2021, to this sudden clothing grab in atlanta. hitha herzog wrote a book on the crime trend and points to local laws. is there something that all of these cities have in common? it s the threshold for these cities to prosecute for grand larceny. the threshold has increased for all of these cities and then we have bail reform. reporter: she said some thieves no longer think twice about stealing with stores in
year. store owners say they can t keep up and pretty soon neither can consumers. live in los angeles with more, hi, kelly. hi, dana. and that s right, it s something that we re seeing play out here. i m in melrose village today, normally a very popular retail shop. but the cycle that we ve been talking about has started to take over and businesses on this street see consistent retail theft. and that s what we re seeing nationally as well. you mentioned it, $100 billion lost in 2022. that has retailers shutting down or leaving cities like san francisco, national brands and small brands alike. it could get worse here in california, though. retailers are up against a tough policy. it s only a misdemeanor to steal anything under $950. now the statement has passed a new law that would prohibit retail staff even if they are trained to stop retail thieves. supporters say it will protect employees but others say it s anti-business. this is the blood, sweat and tears going into these stores
taking look at that body cam video moments where austin police engage in armed suspect on the patio at the restaurant after he reportedly fired on them the standoff turned into a shootout and left of the suspec with multiple gunshot wounds it but he is now in jail. no officers were injured. onto a member of the smashing grab crime ring in washington state who was to blame for his own demise. in his haste to make off with luxury lily baton stop he sprinted smack dab into a full-length glass window. it knocked himself out cold. the teenaged robber was among dozens of retail thieves busted this year. hundreds more have gotten away. as america s crime crisis continues to exact its devastating toll from coast-to-coast, samba crime victims who vote democrat changing their tune. in changing their party. laura ingle has that story.