Campbell police use cameras to combat retail theft

A West Valley police department is one of the first in Santa Clara County to target organized retail theft by monitoring businesses’ surveillance cameras — just as voters decide if thieves should receive more punishment statewide.

The Campbell Police Department has launched a program that allows businesses to share their live security footage once they call 911. Businesses can also opt to share their feeds all the time. The program aims to improve the small department’s response to organized retail thefts and foster a better partnership with retailers.

Police responded to 114 organized retail thefts that cost nearly $225,000 between October 2023 and June — numbers officials say don’t indicate a crime surge, but rather more businesses reporting losses after consistent underreporting. The hardest hit areas are near big box stores along Hamilton and South Bascom avenues close to Highway 17.

The camera program, which uses Georgia-based Axon Fusus’ technology and is spearheaded by Capt. Ian White, is partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice and the California Board of State and Community Corrections received late last year. Officials said the police department asked for $6 million, but received a little more than $400,000. The tech costs range between $350 to $7,300 depending on its level of sophistication. Businesses then pay an annual subscription fee.

Amy Taylor, Downtown Campbell Business Association president who owns CBD boutique Cloud City, joined the program after a break-in last spring. She lost about $10,000 in products and damages, but police caught the thief and returned about $5,000. She said $350 and an annual fee are a small price to pay for more security.

“That’s what I would call cheap insurance — in terms of ensuring that I can get a very detailed response to an incident that could be occurring at my business,” Taylor told San José Spotlight.

The program comes as voters are about to weigh in on Proposition 36, a state measure that would mete out harsher punishments for certain drug or theft crimes. If approved, it would reverse aspects of Proposition 47, which reduced the benchmarks for some retail theft and drug crimes to misdemeanors after voters passed it in 2014.

Capt. White supports Proposition 36 — but said only time will tell if it works. He said the proposition doesn’t work in a vacuum, with prosecution out of the police’s hands in the court system.

“We should be more nimble and (say), ‘Hey, this didn’t work, it’s not working. It’s causing some societal problems,’” he told San José Spotlight. “‘Let’s be a little quicker to the ball and admit we didn’t get it right.’”

Mike Van Sant, owner of The Olive Bar and vice president of the Downtown Campbell Business Association, said Proposition 36 is one of the only measures he supports on the ballot. He said while bigger stores might have more thefts, it hits small businesses harder. He’s trying to get other downtown business owners on board with the camera program.

“It impacts us so much more than a large retail company or something, and it really affects the quality of people that you have shop in the downtown,” he told San José Spotlight. “To have those things in place so people feel comfortable is massive, and knowing there’s some accountability that can be held against somebody on our end as a retail company is just reassuring.”
The program has the potential to expand coverage, including school systems. White said increasing technology, such as the drones police use as first responders, is key.

“These systems are not just about organized retail theft,” he said. “We’re looking at holistically public safety and how we address some of the biggest issues of our time with what we have on the ground already.”

The Campbell Police Department is hosting a community meeting Nov. 7 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Campbell Community Center in the Orchard City Banquet Hall to discuss its efforts with business owners.

Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.