A senior official with the Union Pacific railroad is blasting Los Angeles County’s ‘soft-on-crime’ approach and threatening to leave the area amid escalating robberies of cargo containers that are costing the company millions and worsening the country’s already tenuous supply chain crisis.

The warning and criticism come on the heels of tweets posted by a local CBS affiliate correspondent showing a sea of empty boxes strewn about on tracks and right-of-ways stemming from the mass theft of cargo containers sitting on flatbed railcars.

“Keep hearing of train burglaries in LA on the scanner so went to #LincolnHeights to see it all. And… there’s looted packages as far as the eye can see. Amazon packages, @UPS boxes, unused Covid tests, fishing lures, epi pens. Cargo containers left busted open on trains. @CBSLA,” photojournalist John Schreiber reported.

Keep hearing of train burglaries in LA on the scanner so went to #LincolnHeights to see it all. And… there’s looted packages as far as the eye can see. Amazon packages, @UPS boxes, unused Covid tests, fishing lures, epi pens. Cargo containers left busted open on trains. @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/JvNF4UVy2K

— John Schreiber (@johnschreiber) January 13, 2022

In a letter to George Soros-installed L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón, the rail carrier’s general director of public affairs, Adrian Guerrero, demanded that he help end the “spiraling crisis of organized and opportunistic criminal rail theft,” adding, quite shockingly, that “over 90 containers are compromised per day.”

“Since December 2020, UP has experienced an over 160% increase in criminal rail theft in Los Angeles County. In several months during that period, the increase from the previous year surpassed 200%. In October 2021 alone, the increase was 356% over compared to October 2020,” Guerrero wrote.

“Not only do these dramatic increases represent retail product thefts – they include increased assaults and armed robberies of UP employees performing their duties moving trains,” Guerrero added.

But it’s not just the thefts; the Union Pacific official also blamed left-wing criminal justice ‘reform’ policies that essentially fail to hold thieves legally accountable, something Gascón has been criticized about for months:

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.

These individuals are generally caught and released back onto the streets in less than twenty-four 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 UP by these same criminals. In fact, criminals boast to our officers that charges will be pled down to simple trespassing – which bears no serious consequence. Without any judicial deterrence or consequence, it is no surprise that over the past year UP has witnessed the significant increase in criminal rail theft described above.

Guerrero said that UPS and FedEx, both of which utilize Union Pacific, are threatening to divert their business away from Los Angeles County, adding that the rail carrier may follow suit.

“Like our customers, UP is now contemplating serious changes to our operating plans to avoid Los Angeles County,” Guerrero wrote, adding that such a “drastic change” would significantly impact the national supply chain.

While Union Pacific understands “the well-intended social justice goals” of Gascón, Guerrero nevertheless demanded he “hold these criminals accountable.”

Gascón’s office replied with a lame boilerplate response about ‘being committed’ to the safety and security of L.A. County’s infrastructure, while adding that cases are not prosecuted because of “insufficient evidence.”

“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. We make charging decisions based on the evidence,” the statement said.

But Guerrero explained in his letter that despite more than 100 suspects having been arrested while actively vandalizing trains, Union Pacific “has not been contacted for any court proceedings.”

In his Twitter report, Schreiber added: “As you can see, trains frequently slow or stop in this area as they get worked into the @UnionPacific Intermodal facility near Downtown LA. The thieves use this opportunity to break open containers and take what’s inside. I’d say every 4th or 5th rail car had opened containers.”

As you can see, trains frequently slow or stop in this area as they get worked into the @UnionPacific Intermodal facility near Downtown LA. The thieves use this opportunity to break open containers and take what’s inside. I’d say every 4th or 5th rail car had opened containers. pic.twitter.com/PHpujyB84M

— John Schreiber (@johnschreiber) January 13, 2022