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Shoplifters, thieves on Santa's naughty list

November 7, 2009 12:36 am

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.

"A lot of these things are a matter of opportunity," Hunnicutt said. "Thieves are walking around parking lots trying doors. Sometimes they'll pull the door to see if it's unlocked, and if it isn't they'll reach in and steal a purse or laptop."

Sometimes even locking things in a trunk isn't enough to keep them safe, he said. One theft ring from Florida had several dozen car keys that it used to unlock cars in parking lots and steal things from the trunks.

"People would go home and not even realize things were gone," Hunnicutt said.

Local retailers and police are beefing up efforts to prevent theft over the holidays. Stafford, for example, will put an undercover team in all large retail stores during the holidays to maintain shopper safety and prevent shoplifting, Kennedy said. And Fredericksburg police will work closely with retail employees in charge of loss prevention, said spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe.

"They're invaluable in identifying problems and catching thieves as they go out the door," she said.

"If one store identifies suspects or suspicious circumstances, they'll notify others and say, 'Hey, they hit us and can hit you.'"

Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Email: cjett@freelancestar.com