By Michelle Thompson For Dailymail.Com

Published: 17:44 EDT, 17 January 2022 | Updated: 19:01 EDT, 17 January 2022

A major rail carrier being regularly pillaged by looters in the Los Angeles area has lashed out against District Attorney George Gascon, saying his soft-on-crime policies are doing nothing to stop thieves.

Union Pacific (UP) says thefts from its cargo trains parked in Los Angeles County increased 160 percent during the past year - and spiked 356 percent last October compared to the same month in 2020. 

The Nebraska-based rail carrier said its agents have made hundreds of arrests, but said less than half are booked are even booked - and some are released in less than 24 hours.

It's now calling on Gascon - who has been heavily criticized for his reformative approach to punishment - to do something to help fend off thieves stealing millions of dollars worth of Amazon and UPS packages.

The packages contain an assortment of consumer goods, ranging from toys, electronics and designer goods to Covid tests and EpiPens. 

Crews on Monday were working to clean masses of discarded packaging left behind by the criminals, according to video footage that showed tractors pushing mounds of garbage together.

'Criminals are caught and arrested, turned over to local authorities for booking, arraigned before the local courts, charges are reduced to a misdemeanor or petty offense, and the criminal is released after paying a nominal fine,' Union Pacific said in a letter to the county's top prosecutor. 

'These individuals are generally caught and released back onto the streets in less than 24 hours. Even with all the arrests made, the no-cash bail policy and extended timeframe for suspects to appear in court is causing re-victimization to Union Pacific by these same criminals.' 

Union Pacific is experiencing a wave of cargo thefts from its trains parked in the Los Angeles area. Boxes stolen from the trains are pictured scattered throughout the tracks on January 14 

Crews on Monday were working to clean masses of discarded packaging left behind by the criminals, according to video footage that showed tractors pushing mounds of garbage together

Union Pacific workers clear the tracks near Los Angeles after thieves raided thousands of parcels 

Workers were seen loading up looted packages by the bucket load in order to clear the tracks

The freight-hauling company called upon Gascon in its December 20 letter to take 'immediate action to the spiraling crisis of organized and opportunistic criminal rail theft that is impacting our employees, customers and supply chain industry.'

CP is calling on Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon to do something to discourage criminals 

During the past three months, more than 90 packages have been compromised each day by 'criminals vandalizing our trains,' UP said. The crime wave has cost the company about $5 million during the past year.

Despite all the arrests made by its officers and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, UP said it has not be contacted for any court proceedings.

Company spokeswoman Lupe Valdez said officials are now considering diverting trains to avoid passing through Los Angeles County.

'I have been with Union Pacific for 16 years, and I have never, ever seen this situation to this degree,' Valdez told CBS Los Angeles. 

'We are making arrests, but what our officers are seeing on the ground is that people are basically being arrested, there is no bail, they come out the next day and come back to rob our trains.' 

Pictured: Discarded boxes stolen from freight trains in the center of Los Angeles on January 14

Despite making arrests in connection with thefts and vandalism, UP said it has not been contacted by the DA's office to assist with criminal proceedings.  Litter surrounds the tracks in this January 15 photo

Valdez said UP's chief is meeting with the Los Angeles Police Department this week to discuss the issue.

Gascon's office did not respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment, although it did provide a statement to CBSLA last Friday.

'Our office is committed to working with law enforcement to ensure collective safety across Los Angeles County's sprawling infrastructure, whether it's at our ports or on railroad tracks,' the statement said. 

'Some cases presented to our office by Union Pacific have been filed, such as burglary and grand theft, while others have been declined due to insufficient evidence. 

The statement continued: 'We make charging decisions based on the evidence. Our office takes Union Pacific's concerns seriously and hopes to discuss this issue more in the coming weeks.'

'Even with all the arrests made, the no-cash bail policy and extended timeframe for suspects to appear in court is causing re-victimization to Union Pacific by these same criminals,' the rail carrier said in its letter to Gascon

Dozens of freight cars are broken into every day on Los Angeles's railways by thieves who take advantage of the trains' stops to loot packages bought online, leaving thousands of gutted boxes and products that will never reach their destinations.

According to the tags found Friday by an Associated Free Press team on a track near the city center - many major US mail order and courier companies such as Amazon, Target, UPS and FedEx are being hit by the thefts.

The thieves wait until the long freight trains are immobilized on the tracks, and then climb onto the freight containers, whose locks they easily break with the help of bolt cutters.

They then help themselves to parcels, ditching any products that are difficult to move or re-sell, or are too cheap, such as Covid-19 test kits, furniture or medications

A train is pictured passing through shredded boxes and packages in downtown LA on January 14

Dozens of freight cars are broken into every day on Los Angeles's railways by thieves who take advantage of the trains' stops to loot packages bought online, leaving thousands of gutted boxes and products that will never reach their destinations

Pictured: an open box of unused Covid-19 tests is left behind on a section of Union Pacific train tracks littered with thousands of opened boxes and packages stolen from cargo shipping containers, targeted by thieves as the trains stop in downtown Los Angeles

The explosion in looting has been accompanied by an upsurge in 'assaults and armed robberies of UP employees performing their duties moving trains,' the letter said.

To combat the trend, Union Pacific says it has strengthened surveillance measures - including drones and other detection systems - and recruited more security staff for its tracks and convoys.

Last week, a UP train filled with packages derailed outside of a depot in the LA area.  

It is unclear what caused the derailment, but many torn up packages left in the area by cargo thieves could be seen at the intersection, which remains closed.

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Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd

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