Crime & Safety
Auto Theft Task Force Gets $1.75M In Support Over 5 Years: RivCo Supes
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department seeks funds to support for a multi-year support in its effort to stop vehicle thefts.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved appropriating up to $1.75 million over five years to support a Riverside County law enforcement task force focused on investigating and stopping vehicle thefts.
In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board signed off on the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's request for the General Fund outlay to ensure the Riverside Auto Theft Interdiction Detail -- RAID -- has sufficient resources to continue operations to the beginning of 2029.
The bulk of RAID's funding -- $11.72 million -- will be drawn from a sheriff's trust fund specifically established to cover the task force's costs, according to documents posted to the board's agenda. A memorandum of understanding, retroactive to Jan. 1, was required between the board and sheriff's department to formally arrange the expenditures.
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The trust fund relies on a $2 surcharge added to every county motorist's registration fees for revenue.
RAID has been in operation since the fall of 1993. It's a multi- jurisdictional task force that comprises personnel from the Department of Motor Vehicles, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Insurance, National Insurance Crime Bureau, District Attorney's Office, as well as the Banning, Beaumont, Murrieta and Riverside police departments.
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"The continued existence of the RAID Task Force is a valuable resource to county law enforcement agencies in their collective efforts to deter vehicle theft, increase the apprehension and identification of the professional vehicle thief, increase the recovery of stolen vehicles and educate citizens ... in vehicle theft prevention," according to a statement posted to the agenda.
Two sheriff's sergeants, two deputies and an investigator staff the task force full-time. There are also three CHP investigators assigned to it, and under the new agreement, a CHP lieutenant will serve as a "task force coordinator."
In 2023, Riverside County had the fifth-highest rate of vehicle thefts in the state. According to the CHP, there were a total 10,109 thefts countywide.
