California Atty. General Rob Bonta announced on Tuesday a new partnership between the Justice Department and

more than

a dozen retailers and online marketplaces to tackle organized retail crime in the state.

To support prosecution, partners including Target, Albertsons and Amazon signed a pledge that “increases information sharing” between law enforcement, retailers experiencing theft

,

and online marketplaces where stolen goods can be resold.

Organized retail crime will not be tolerated, Bonta said at a press conference. Not by business, not by the police, not by me. Today we make that abundantly clear.

The agreement also includes specific commitments for the brick-and-mortar traders who sign the pact, including keeping a thorough record of incidents, filing police reports and training staff to collect appropriate evidence.

“There was a long period of discussion between law enforcement and marketplaces and retailers, which was not always agreed,” Bonta said. “We have agreement. And we have commitments for action going forward.”

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The Justice Department has also created a new online portal where members of the public can submit complaints and tips about such crimes they may witness.

The initiative focuses on organized retail crime, not shoplifting, employee theft or fraud, which account for a significant portion of all retail losses.

“It’s not about the occasional beating at the local big store,” Bonta said. “This is about a multi

–

billion dollar criminal enterprise criminal schemes that are complex, orchestrated and incredibly organized.”

Organized shoplifting has become the subject of national attention in recent years, with stores and government officials alike sounding the alarm. Images of mass break-ins of groups of people smashing shop windows and collecting carts full of merchandise are widely circulated, fueling fears that organized crime gangs are running rampant and operating complex resale businesses.

In response, many retailers have increased their security measures, often to the point of angering their paying customers. It has become the new norm for basic household items, such as toothpaste and allergy medications, to be kept behind plastic barriers or security devices and to be retrieved by waiting for an available staff member. More products have also been moved behind the checkout.

Some critics have posited that the issue is exaggerated, and

That

Complex gangs are not responsible for large numbers of retail losses.

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Others argue that retailers have used consumer fears to justify discriminatory policies and increased police scrutiny in stores. A Time Survey

from in

Drugstores in the Los Angeles area in November suggested that stores in higher-income neighborhoods were less likely to lock stolen items, even if property crime was higher in those areas.

Estimates vary widely

ahead of

how much money shops lose due to cases of organized shoplifting. A report released last year by the National Retail Federation estimated that at least $35 billion worth of products will be stolen by 2021, but the report did not distinguish between shoplifting and organized crime.

Added the report

said

that Los Angeles was the metropolitan area most affected by organized shoplifting in the country, just ahead of San Francisco and Oakland.

On a call about quarterly earnings in May, Target executives said increasing theft was driving losses between $700 million and $800 million by 2022. The retail giant predicted related losses could rise to $500 million more by 2023, at an amount of $1.2 trillion.

Some stores in California have closed their doors permanently, citing subtle references to theft.

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Nordstrom announced last month

That

it’s closing its two stores in San Francisco’s Union Square, a high-profile exodus following dozens of others in the formerly bustling shopping district.

although

Not explicitly referring to crime, Jamie Nordstrom, the chief stores officer, blamed the changing dynamic

from the inside

Downtown San Francisco as the reason for the closure.

This month, the owners of the Westfield San Francisco Center mall announced they would be relinquishing the property to their lenders after losing Nordstrom as a tenant.

A Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield spokesman said in an announcement of the

the group company

departure.

Bonta said tackling organized retail crime is one of my top priorities as attorney general. For other retailers or online marketplaces that want to join the agreement, he said, “The door is open.”