Crime up, but drug arrests flat

However, the retail theft increases over the same time period have sharply increased, with a 75% spike in retail theft arrests between 2020 and 2023 in San Mateo. The first few months of 2024 indicate the city will see a year-over-year increase.

Redwood City’s jump in retail theft arrests weren’t as stark, however, the number of related police reports increased by almost 50% between 2020 and 2023. Property crime also increased by about 70% over that same time period.

Officer Jerami Surratt, spokesperson for the San Mateo Police Department, said the figures largely match what officers tend to see throughout the city.

“It doesn't surprise me that much,” he said. “Drug use is a constant thing, no matter what we do or no matter how much education you put out … unless someone makes up their mind to get off drugs or to seek help.”

He added that since COVID-19, crimes like retail theft became increasingly more organized and sophisticated, going from mobs running into stores a couple years ago to groups of people coordinating to steal cars and drive them through business fronts.

There has also been an increase in resources at the regional and state level to combat retail theft, which in part, resulted in a joint organized retail theft task force among several cities’ police departments in the county, as well as more coordinated efforts between stores’ loss prevention agents and local law enforcement. The highly targeted approach has led to more arrests, and many individuals also come from San Francisco or the East Bay to target some of the county’s largest shopping malls, Surratt added.

“Generally speaking, [drug use] is probably the same. I don't think there is much difference in San Mateo and the surrounding cities,” Surratt said. “But a lot of people come here to commit crime, like [shoplifting].”

Though drug-related arrests have not followed the same upward trend as shoplifting or property crime, there still aren’t signs that overall use is significantly decreasing. Total overdose deaths in the county increased from 98 in 2019 to 113 in 2023. Some local leaders and elected officials, such as District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, have said that they hope the passage of Proposition 36 could help lessen overall drug use, as those facing their third drug possession would face felony charges and therefore longer jail or prison time — though successful completion of drug treatment could waive the sentence.

That could also fill up some of the county’s drug rehabilitation centers and increase participation in drug court — programs that allow individuals to successfully complete treatment in lieu of jail time — which have steadily declined over the last several years.

The proposition is more of a tough-on-crime approach, repealing portions of Proposition 47, which kept drug possession to a misdemeanor with little to no jail time. But even with the stricter laws, Surratt said there is more acceptance of drug use and addiction as a mental health condition, rather than a crime in and of itself.

“Over the last five to 10 years, there has been a huge shift in the mentality of people in California when it comes to drug use and possession and now there is more of a mental health aspect to all this,” he said.

alyse@smdailyjournal.com

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