Police: 10 teens suspected of shoplifting swarm at downtown Santa Barbara clothing store

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Santa Barbara police are working with a clothing store that was the victim of large-scale shoplifting on Monday evening.

At around 4:50 p.m., Santa Barbara police responded to reports of a shoplift at a Volcom store on the 600 block of State Street in the downtown area.

Police responded and made contact with store workers on the incident.

Store employees reported that as many as 10 teens came into the store and took items and then escaped out the back door. The alarm went off, alerting store workers of the theft.

Santa Barbara police say the teens all wore similar jackets and got away on bikes or on foot.

Police are working with the clothing store to file a report on the theft.

Large scale retail thefts have been a growing problem in California in recent months. Last week, California district attorneys and the California Retailers Association called for more tools to combat the increasing number of thefts.

Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and California DA Rob Bonta argued that police and prosecutors have all the legal tools they need to go after suspected shoplifters.