Photo: DAVID SWANSON / EFE
The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, was this Thursday on the Union Pacific tracks near downtown Los Angeles, where in recent weeks there have been alarming images of garbage caused by the theft of merchandise from the trains that circulate there.
Thousands upon thousands of empty boxes and product remains left behind by thieves, including packaging from companies like Amazon and FedEx, have become an image of shame that has gone around the world and portrays several problems at once such as the rampant rise in theft and the supply chain crisis.
The governor set the example by joining the cleaning bodies that began to pick up the garbage left on the train tracks and their surroundings from where the end of week there was a derailment perhaps associated with the dump. Newsom said the people involved in the robbery should be prosecuted criminally.
“What I see is what you see. I see what you guys have been reporting,” Newsom told reporters. “I see what people are seeing, asking me: ‘What the hell is going on?’ It looks like a Third World country.“
Union Pacific representatives present at the act said that in recent weeks they have arrested dozens of people for the theft of merchandise, but that they are still waiting for the suspects to go to court.
They indicated that since December 2020 the theft on the trains has risen a 78% and that around 60 Containers are in danger of theft by the day in Los Angeles County, where thieves have been taking advantage of trains being stopped due to problems associated with the supply chain crisis.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Union Pacific -which has the right to employ its own police to take care of its trains – has reduced its number of security personnel and that this has also affected . The company, for its part, alleges that the Los Angeles prosecutor’s office, George Gascón, has not been forceful enough with the thieves.
CHP Cargo Theft Task Force along with Vernon PD recovered 4 stolen containers valued at approx $900k. This is an excellent example of a collaborative effort between agencies to better serve the people of California pic.twitter.com/u9iTHPLu1p
— CHP PIO – LA County (@CHPsouthern) January 20, 2022
The California Highway Patrol, in charge of providing greater security against thieves, reported today that its cargo theft officers and Vernon Police recovered four stolen containers containing approximately $900, dollars worth of merchandise.
Increasing surveillance in places like the one visited by Newsom in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood seems to be an urgent measure, only that only in the county there are about 300 miles of Union Pacific tracks and in California are more than 3,01 miles.
Over the weekend, we saw pictures of a Union Pacific Railroad track in the Eastside filled to the brim with the remnants of packages with valuables that never made it to their final destination. Today, thanks to @CAgovernor’s commitment to public safety, the cleanup began. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/EudoYqHuvs—Hilda Solis (@HildaSolis) January 21, 2022
Newsom, accompanied by Supervisor Hilda Solís and transportation and police authorities, mentioned a proposal to grant $255 millions of dollars to police forces during the next three years to create a unit dedicated to fighting theft of goods, cars and trains.