retail crime compared to 2019. designer clothes and handbags now among the top targets. according to law enforcement officials, california is now home to three of the nation s top ten cities for organized retail theft. you re a holiday shopper in california. how concerned should you be about this? i think people need to keep their wits about them. don t flash cash. keep your purse in two hands or close to your body under your coat. at the sign of trouble, loud noise, cars where they don t belong, get off the sidewalk, get off the street. reporter: we don t know why it s happened here and now. some are pointing to legislation that downgrades the penalty for this kind of crime. others are pointing to copy cat attacks and the internet. many of the goods are on sale on fringe websites. erin, thank you so much. with me now is retired seattle police chief and analyst carmen
breaking into high-end retailers, grabbing merchandise and fleeing as a cluster of getaway cars blocked traffic. an estimated $200,000 worth of merchandise gone in a matter of mince. i saw people running down the street. i probably saw 50 to 80 people in like ski masks, crow bars. many of the robberies orchestrated by criminal masterminds. they re paying the individuals to do the robberies. they collect the goods and fence them and move them to other parts of the country. and the situation is getting worse. in 2020, the state saw more than five times the number of investigations into organized retail crime compared to 2019. designer clothes and handbags now among the top targets. according to law enforcement officials, california is now home to three of the nation s top ten cities for organized retail theft. you re a holiday shopper in california. how concerned should you be about this? i think that people need to