The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) has announced significant progress in its efforts to combat retail crime, reporting a 2.5-fold increase in case filings through June 2025 compared to the average of the past four years. As of June this year, King County Prosecutors have filed 142 retail theft cases.
This substantial increase in filings, which began to spike in 2022, is largely attributed to the KCPAO’s strategic initiatives. Key factors contributing to this progress include:
• Dedicated Retail Crimes Deputy Prosecuting Attorney (DPA) Position: In June 2021, the KCPAO established a specific DPA position dedicated full-time to retail crime cases. This led to a sharp increase in filings from 52 felony retail crime cases in 2021 to 157 in 2022.…