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| Mon, Nov. 23 - - Mobile - RSS | |
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Shoplifters, thieves on Santa's naughty list
'Tis the season for stealingDate published: 11/7/2009 BY CATHY JETT Retailers aren't the only ones expecting to do most of their business this holiday shopping season. So are shoplifters and thieves on the prowl for unsuspecting shoppers' credit cards and purchases. "Theft does tend to be worse during the holidays," said Laurie Peterson Al-drich, spokeswoman for the Virginia Retail Merchants Association. "Often times it goes up so they have inventory to sell on the Internet." According to the National Retail Federation's latest data, total retail loss nationwide was $36.5 million nationwide in 2008, up from $34.8 billion in 2007. That's an average of 1.52 percent of retail sales, up from 1.44 percent the previous year. "While the economy plays a role in the amount of shoplifting around the country, these crimes are mostly the case of greed instead of need," said Joe LaRocca, the federation's senior asset protection advisor. "People aren't stealing to feed their families; they're stealing iPods, handbags and other discretionary items." Among them are organized crime rings that hit Fredericksburg-area stores then head out of town on Interstate 95. One such group cut a hole in the back door of a local electronics store earlier this year, and made off with a huge haul, said Fredericksburg Detective Wayne Hunnicutt. They were eventually caught in another state. He said it's also not uncommon for thieves to steal items from one store, then either pawn them or try to return them at another location in the same chain. Since they don't have a receipt, they're usually given a gift card that they'll turn around and try to sell at a reduced price to a customer entering the store. "A lot of these people have some sort of substance abuse problem," Hunnicutt said. In Stafford County, the Sheriff's Office is seeing an increase in theft of general merchandise, especially meat and batteries, said spokesman Bill Kennedy. "What we're seeing is an effort to supplement income with shoplifting," he said. "It's a little alarming, but people working for stores and external theft are now almost equal. There used to be more shoplifting." Most of the internal theft is done by new hires, Kennedy said, not veteran employees. Shoppers aren't immune from thieves, either. Leave a purse open or purchases in plain sight in a vehicle and sticky fingers can make off with them in seconds.
Date published: 11/7/2009
I have seen so MANY WOMEN
(posted by
Jazzercisemom
, Nov. 9, 2009 12:17 pm)
leave their purses in the shppong cart and walk away....I don't know how may people I tell each week to take their purses with them. Walmart is a haven for these women that walk away with their purses in the shopping cart. BE CAREFUL!!!!! You are aking for it.
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