Sneaker Store Among Livingston Mall Retailers Hit in $5,000 Thefts
Apparel and footwear retailers remain on high alert for shoplifting as the $95 billion retail crime epidemic continues.
In Livingston, New Jersey on June 22, six businesses including Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Zumiez and City of Soles were targeted in what appears to be a coordinated series of thefts. Livingston police arrested three New York residents for possession of more than $5,000 of merchandise from Livingston Mall fashion retailers. City of Soles suffered a previous robbery last year when surveillance video captured a suspect stealing more than $600 worth of shoes.
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On July 25, in Atlanta, a shoplifting incident took a violent turn when a woman accused of stealing from an Old Navy store allegedly pepper-sprayed the employees who confronted her. She was arrested on charges of shoplifting and assault.
At a Burlington store in Sacramento, California last Saturday, thieves were caught on surveillance cameras making off with three carts full of stolen merchandise including footwear and . The theft occurred in broad daylight, and was recorded on cell phone video, which also showed the assailants appeared to have parked in a handicapped parking spot. Police’s attempts to find the suspects was greatly aided by the video-taker securing a shot of the suspected getaway car’s license plate, though no arrest has been reported as yet.
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♬ original sound – Daily Mail
Meanwhile, in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area, a serial shoplifter with a penchant for denim has been targeting retail stores, stealing various products over several weeks. Crime Stoppers has stepped in to help, offering $1,000 for help leading to the apprehension and prosecution of this suspect.
“When they see him, they know what he’s coming to do,” Chattanooga PD Sgt. Victoria Miller told Local 3 News about the suspect who has hit the Hamilton Place Mall’s JCPenney store several times, allegedly stealing Levi’s jeans. “Every time, it’s the same operation. So, they immediately contact the police.”
In seeking holistic solutions to the shoplifting epidemic, local legislators and law enforcement officials are redoubling their efforts.
In a bid to tackle the surging retail thefts, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara of New York has unveiled legislation that would significantly strengthen penalties for shoplifters, targeting offenders who have been convicted of petty larceny twice within three months within a year, according to the lawmaker’s website.
Doing so treats further shoplifting offenses as fourth-degree grand larceny.
Meanwhile, the City of Seattle recently unveiled a comprehensive action plan on combatting organized retail crime. Recommendations in the 43-page paper from the city auditor as well as research and evaluation director Claudia Gross Shader included greater collaborations with other agencies on the federal and state levels, including the state’s new Organized Retail Crime Unit. An increased focus on disrupting unregulated street markets and interrogation of “boosters,” or those who steal on behalf of fencing organizations, is also part of the recommendations.
Also part of the audit is endorsement of a “prosecution checklist,” a collaboration with local businesses to boost security, including advanced surveillance systems and better inventory controls, while also aiming to strengthen legislation for more effective prosecution of ORC offenders.
