Portland Police Dragnet Arrests More Than 100 Retail Theft Suspects
Police operations nationwide and around the globe reveal the depth of the shoplifting problem and rise in organized retail crime.
And on Tuesday, Congress’ House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence held a hearing on organized retail crime, where Texas Republican August Pfluger, the committee’s chairman, noted organized retail crime‘s negative impact on both businesses and working-class Americans.
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“[Retailers] have begun closing stores in certain locations, which also creates a negative impact on the communities that they serve, and kills jobs for thousands of Americans,” Pfluger said.
Retail supports more than one of every four U.S. jobs, according to 2020 data from the National Retail Federation (NRF), the powerful industry lobbying group.
The hearing addressed organized retail crime’s unique risk for retail workers, given high-profile incidents in which store employees and loss prevention teams have been harmed, attacked or killed by suspects.
“The challenge is you can’t stop [organized retail crime] because you may put your employees in harm’s way. The losses, the damages are substantial. So we’ve got to figure out when you have these big organizations really, that originate these criminal activities, how to stop them, and we start with good data, and we end with action,” said California Democrat Lou Correa.
But not all incidents of retail crime fall into the “organized” category, or what might be considered “theft for greed, not theft for need” by Scott Glenn, vice president of asset protection at Home Depot.
NRF data shows that shrink accounted for over $112 billion in 2022, up from nearly $94 billion in 2021.
Law enforcement nationwide and beyond is paying closer attention to the crime wave with specialized operations targeting shoplifters and ORC.
Portland, Ore.
Police in Portland, Ore., recovered nearly $5,000 of stolen merchandise in a “retail theft mission” focused on apprehending shoplifters. The Dec. 9-10 mission netted 37 suspects and recovered four stolen vehicles, according to a Portland Police Bureau East Precinct release.
A bureau spokesperson told Sourcing Journal that officers targeted Kohl’s, Target, Fred Meyer, REI, Nike, Home Depot and WinCo stores that weekend.
The bureau said it carried out its anti-retail crime campaign in partnership with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Retail Theft Task Force, the Multnomah County Sheriff, the Portland Police Bureau Central Precinct and local business loss prevention services.
The spokesperson said that while arrestees face a variety of charges, the most common charge is theft.
The department carried out a similar “mission” over Thanksgiving weekend, arresting more than 110 people, per Portland Police Bureau new release.
During three days spent apprehending suspects at locations citywide, including Gresham Station Shopping Center, Gateway Shopping Center, Mall 205 and Cascade Station Shopping Center, police recovered more than $10,000 worth of stolen merchandise and nine stolen vehicles.
Police said officers will continuing cracking down on retail theft.
“Missions like this one go a long way in improving livability across the area, seeing as the individuals involved in shoplifting are often involved in criminal activity that extends far beyond retail theft,” police said. “Therefore, similar missions will continue for the foreseeable future to deter retail theft and other crimes across Portland.”
The bureau’s spokesperson confirmed that officers will continue retail theft missions through the holiday season.
Cicero, N.Y.
CNY Central reported Tuesday that police arrested a group of women and juveniles accused of stealing over $3,000 from a Kohl’s on Monday night in Cicero, N.Y.
Kohl’s employees contacted the police to report a larceny at the store on Route 31, telling police that six women left the store with carts full of merchandise they had not paid for, CNY reported. An employee told police the type of merchandise the suspects stole and gave them with the license plate of the SUV they drove.
After police attempted to conduct a traffic stop on I-81, the suspects allegedly crashed into another vehicle before fleeing. Police later found the car had been stolen.
According to the article, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s office arrested three women, Janiya Savage-Hope, 18; Natasia Bowens, 21 and Neveah Gunn, 19, and two juveniles.
Police charged the adults with grand larceny in the third degree, conspiracy in the fifth degree and unauthorized use of a vehicle without owner’s consent, according to CNY.
The Onondaga County Sheriff’s office did not return Sourcing Journal’s request for comment.
Los Angeles
Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Organized Retail Crime Task Force carried out what it called “Operation Secret Santa,” according to an LAPD release. Members of the task force conducted three plain clothes operations on Nov. 22, Nov. 24 and Nov. 25.
Police partnered with retailers’ loss prevention officers, who alerted plain clothes officers to shoplifting activities. Plain clothes officers called in uniformed officers to arrest suspects. Operation Secret Santa resulted in three arrests—six made on Nov. 22 and five on Nov. 24, per the release. Police recovered all $5,390 worth of stolen merchandise.
The LAPD noted it would continue cracking down on retail theft during the holiday season.
“The ORCTF will be conducting additional operations during this holiday season with the goal of identifying, disrupting and arresting retail thieves,” the department wrote.
Visalia, Calif.
Police in Visalia, Calif., announced on Dec. 8 that the department had made over 75 arrests for holiday retail theft-related crimes in November.
The Visalia Police Department’s Property Crimes Unit and HOPE Team carried out the operations resulting in the arrests, according to a Facebook post.
The officers also made contact with over 25 individuals that “resulted in deterring them from committing retail theft,” according to police.
The Visalia Police Department will also focus on targeting retail crime operations this holiday season.
Elmhurst, Ill.
The Elmhurst Police Department arrested three suspects: Ilys Mary Ledesma Zapata, 37; Christian Johan Saavedra-Omona, 21 and Braud Pineda Avendano, 33, at a Kohl’s on Route 83 on Nov. 24, per a release from DuPage County.
The three suspects, all Venezuelan migrants, are accused of shoplifting apparel totaling $504 in value from the store on Black Friday.
The police allege Ledesma Zapata “was in possession of a large magnet used to defeat anti-theft devices in the store,” per the release.
The three will face arraignment on Dec. 18.
United Kingdom
The BBC reported Tuesday that a Scotland-based company took notice of a gang with over 150 members stealing items of high value from stores.
Police have arrested gang members throughout England in cities including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Darlington, according to the outlet.
Maxine Fraser, managing director of Retailers Against Crime, told BBC that the gang has trafficked children to the United Kingdom to shoplift. Fraser said she estimates about one-tenth of the group—or 15 children—are currently involved with the gang.
The BBC noted the presence of another gang, based in England, which “operates in London with members that are almost exclusively female, all trafficked from Eastern Europe.”
Canada
Canadian police in Windsor, Ontario, carried out a similar initiative to those in Portland in what it called a “crackdown on shoplifting” on its Facebook page. Between Dec. 5-7, the Windsor Police Service arrested 14 people, recovering $4,250 in stolen merchandise.
Per the post, members of the Windsor police’s Problem-Oriented Policing Unit (POP), which it formed in 2018 to “focus on sustained crime problems,” worked in tandem with a TJX security team to identify shoplifters at the off-price retail company’s Winners, Marshalls and HomeSense stores in the area.
A spokesperson for the Windsor Police Service said they could not speak to the specific charges the 14 suspects face, nor could they say how many people police arrested at each store.
The spokesperson told Sourcing Journal its POP Unit determines where it will carry out action based on historical data.
“We base whether we’re going to do a retail crime target at certain stores by history of theft calls for service at that store,” a spokesperson said, noting that the POP Unit typically carries out a specialized retail crime bust “every few months or so.”
The spokesperson could not speak to when the next crackdown might occur, noting that the element of surprise helps catch thieves in action.
“If we told people that we’re going to go to a specific store, that kind of defeats the purpose,” they said.
