California?s ?smash and grab? robberies ? what?s really going on behind the headlines?

Amid fraught discussions over the future of policing in major American cities, a series of mass thefts at high-end stores across California have made headlines nationwide.

The incidents have drawn widespread coverage linking them to "organized crime" and spotlighting concerns from retailers about a theft crisis. They also reinvigorated a political debate over crime rates in California, prompting pledges from local and state leaders to charge those involved and increase police presence in affected areas. Meanwhile, conservatives and some local leaders have pointed to the incidents as evidence that criminal justice reform and progressive policies are encouraging crime and making California more dangerous.

But despite their high profile nature, experts say there is little evidence to suggest the robberies point to a wider retail theft crisis, and that some law enforcement and industry groups are overstating the problem.

Here's what we know so far.

Last month in San Francisco's downtown and the posh Union Square shopping district, groups broke into Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Bloomingdale's at the height of the holiday shopping season. In suburban Walnut Creek, about 80 people, some wearing ski masks and carrying crowbars, grabbed armfuls of merchandise from a Nordstrom and fled to waiting cars in what police called a "planned event", and a similar incident occurred at a mall in the nearby city of Hayward. In Los Angeles, more than $330,000 in goods were stolen in 11 "smash and grab" incidents over about two weeks.

In California in 2020, when Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions were at their harshest, the rates of robbery and larceny theft - which includes shoplifting - decreased from their 2019 totals by 14% and 15% respectively, according to California's attorney general. Meanwhile, homicides went up by 31% and car thefts increased by 20%.

And in the two cities at the center of this upheaval robberies haven't spiked at the levels suggested by news reports and statements from police and officials.