They’re watching

Security personnel on the lookout as attempted thefts increase

NILES -- While shoppers spend more money in search of gifts during the holiday season, local police say the number of attempted thefts at area stores also is increasing.

The Niles Police Department cautions that during this time of the year, beginning around Thanksgiving, stores are in peak season for calls about in-store thefts. According to the department, from Nov. 22 to Dec. 20, the department received 25 calls for shoplifting at the Eastwood Mall, 14 more than last year.

"A lot of stores deal with shoplifting in different ways," said Joe Bell, corporate communications director for the Cafaro Company, which owns the Eastwood Mall.

"Some stores deal with it harsher, others not as confrontational. But there's come a push among retailers everywhere to cut this off. A lot of our retailers are becoming more serious."

Niles, as a whole, received 508 total calls for theft or shoplifting in 2022. Of those 508 calls, Capt. John Marshall said a large portion came near the end of the year.

The exact number of calls per location in 2022 could not be confirmed through records.

Bell did recall an incident at the mall in early December that involved a 14-year-old boy grabbing a decorative Salvation Army kettle near one of the entrances, but security took him and others involved into custody within minutes.

"Shoplifters have been around forever," Bell said. "They have always been the bad part of retailing, it's a drag. But we're fortunate at Eastwood Mall in that we don't get these small mobs of people smashing and grabbing. And we have a really good relationship with Niles and Howland police."

Bell continued, "So we make sure that people are aware they would be caught. People don't want to feel uncomfortable in the store, so seeing many officers makes them feel they're in good hands."

Marshall said some thefts during the holidays are not "as big" as others, and that shoplifters don't necessarily look for any particular types of gifts. He added, "It's usually just people taking whatever they were looking for."

"During holiday time, we do station officers (around the mall) because of the volume of people in that area," Marshall said. "Not always for theft, but all other sorts of things. In the area of businesses on or around 422, through Thanksgiving, Christmas and the beginning of the new year, because that is the busiest part of the area."

Cortland police Chief David Morris said his department handles shoplifting seriously, and if officers are called to stores, they will always assist in handling the incident.

"We had a recent incident where a lady stole three bottles of wine from Circle K," Morris said. "We were able to use Flock cameras to make an arrest. If there is an incident of theft from stores, we will investigate and prosecute in the matter."

Howland Police Department's November blotter showed two instances of theft from Home Depot at 1900 Niles Cortland Road. Four thefts also were attempted at Meijer in Howland Commons.

BAZETTA

Bazetta police blotters regularly show calls for shoplifting at the area's two largest stores -- Menards and Walmart.

From Black Friday to Dec. 20, 2022, there were 13 total service calls for shoplifting between the two stores, according to Bazetta police blotters. The numbers have climbed slightly this year, according to Bazetta police Chief Chris Herlinger.

"Since Thanksgiving, we've had a total of 17 theft or shoplifting calls," Herlinger said on Dec. 22. "Five to Menards, 11 to Walmart. And there was one to another business. Nine were arrested, one was a civil case, and four of the suspects were identified."

Herlinger added that the total amount of money lost in the thefts added up to $3,500.

"There's a slight uptick," Herlinger continued. "With the pandemic, those calls are up now versus last year. Many of the people are close in demographics. Out of the nine arrested, five were females and four were males. But we work well with security and loss prevention in these cases."

The types of items stolen are usually electronics, or smaller personal items, Herlinger added. "Things that they can steal and then resell."

"Sometimes there's things that people are desolate on," Herlinger said. "Maybe things they need, such as food. But there's a difference between stealing those things and trying to make money off of stolen items."

AUSTINTOWN

Austintown police Lt. Shawn Hevener said retail theft is not a major concern for his department.

"Shoplifting is not a massively taxing problem," he said. "Thefts at Walmart are down historically. Home Depot is running more loss prevention and there's 20 more apprehensions, but overall I don't see much of an uptick."

Hevener said much of the activity in Austintown has been outside the stores -- auto thefts and break-ins, stolen license plates and purses, and other "crimes of opportunity."

Austintown police provided year-over-year comparisons for Walmart and Home Depot.

The numbers at Walmart stayed consistent -- 116 thefts in 2022, and 114 up to the week before Christmas this year.

At Home Depot, the numbers increased from 38 last year to 57 this year.

The Vindicator's files from Nov. 8 to Dec. 14 show only two shoplifting arrests at Tractor Supply and three thefts reported at Walmart, both on the western end of Mahoning Avenue in the township.

A report from Austintown's dispatch center showed that theft reports at Walmart between Nov. 24 and Dec. 20 stayed at six from 2022 to 2023, and dropped from four to one at Home Depot.

"Our numbers are down compared to what they used to be," Hevener said. "It's never been as slow as this, except for the beginning of COVID. And a lot of stores are locking merchandise down now, especially at Home Depot."

Hevener said many stores in Austintown do not have dedicated loss prevention departments.

"If they catch a shoplifter, they catch them, but we might go three weeks without a theft at Walmart being reported," he said.

Hevener said many stores rely on regular staff to handle loss prevention, and that can make it difficult to keep it under control and provide data to police. He also said stores do not necessarily report every incident to police.

"We have other stores, like Giant Eagle and Marc's, that have loss prevention staff, but we have no stats for them," Hevener said. "But our officers working security there don't seem to have too many thefts. I'd say Tractor Supply is the next highest in terms of them catching and us arresting shoplifters. We actually had a kid ride his bike around that store stealing."

Hevener said many thefts take the form of fraudulent returns.

"Most of the thefts you're seeing are drug users looking for things they can sell for drugs," he said.

Some thieves will find a receipt in a garbage can, find the item in the store, and then try to return it. Others will try switching stickers, taking a $0.25 sticker from a swatch of fabric and sticking it on a high-priced item. In other cases, people will outright steal high-priced items like paint or flooring, then attempt to return them.

"That's the biggest problem we deal with, next to just stealing the item," he said.

Hevener also said a retail theft ring out of New York was recently active in the area, stealing electrical breakers valued at $4,000 to $5,000 apiece.

"By the time everyone knows they're here, they're already gone," he said.

Hevener also said the increases they have noticed have been at stores that use self-scan checkouts.

"There are people who are down and out who steal Christmas presents, there are those who think it's not a big deal, and there are those with the intent to steal," Hevener said.

In any case, self-checkout stations make it easier.

Reporter Dan Pompili contributed to this report.