BEND, OR -- Deschutes County's District Attorney is optimistic new state funds will help curb organized retail theft. D.A. Steve Gunnels says groups of thieves enter stores, load up carts with merchandise and walk out without paying. ?"It's really a big problem for retailers. It's a problem for people who shop at retail stores, which is all of us, because that kind of activity drives the prices up for everybody."

But the incidents are more than just a blight on the retailer's bottom line, "There are a lot of situations where if the store tries to intervene, there could be violence with people who just want to get away with their stolen property and people can get hurt."

As KBND News first reported last week, Gunnels' office was awarded a nearly $18,000 grant from Oregon's Criminal Justice Commission to provide training and resources for local businesses through the end of the year. "It's a small grant, but it's important to get some funding to help with the time and some of the materials that we'll be distributing to the local retailers," says Gunnels. "It's basically for flyers, for materials that we would hand out to stores to kind of identify ways to reduce this threat to their wellbeing, their bottom line." Gunnels had asked for $50,000. The Criminal Justice Commission says he can apply for the remainder in January.

Gunnels tells KBND News local businesses look forward to receiving help, "Retailers are receptive. I've spoken to Loss Prevention about the issue and they're all over it. They really want to get on top of it, because when they see it happen, sometimes they see it happening in hindsight, when they're reviewing surveillance footage from inside their store. And once people get away, there sometimes isn't a lot that they or police can do about it."

He urges shoppers not to attempt to intervene, if they see a person or a group of people shoplifting, "Reach out to store employees, who can get in touch with their risk management or their loss prevention, and then contact the police."