Tag Archives: shoplifting

Kentwood’s Operation P.R.I.C.E. Steps up Security during the holidays

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, , , , ,

As West Michigan gears up for the holiday shopping season, the City of Kentwood is again offering a unique program with a track record of keeping crime down – and retailers happy.

 

Operation P.R.I.C.E. (Preventing Retail Theft Through Initiative, Collaboration & Enforcement) is a collaborative effort by Kentwood Police and local businesses along the 28th Street corridor to discourage shoplifting and to educate employees and store owners on ways to decrease crime during the holiday season. In 2016, retail theft cost U.S. retail industry an estimated $48.9 billion. Programs like Operation P.R.I.C.E aim to reduce these numbers and, ultimately, improve the shopping experience in the Kentwood community.

 

Kentwood Police, Woodland Mall and other local store owners partner together to increase police presence in stores and on the streets. Kentwood Police also provide education to store employees on spotting the warning signs of a potential crime and what to do when someone is caught.

 

The program was started in 2014 in order to help educate business owners and their employees on ways to reduce retail fraud in their stores.

 

In 2016, over 70 businesses participated in the program. The Kentwood Police Department anticipates just as many stores partnering with them this year.

The key, says Kentwood Police Chief Thomas Hillen, is working collaboratively with business owners.

 

“The partnership between officers and store owners is powerful,” Hillen said. “Since 2014, we have worked to build relationships and a mutual respect with retailers. Ultimately, we are working towards the same goal – reducing theft and crime in our community.”

 

Kentwood Police offer education opportunities for businesses to learn more about warning signs of shoplifters. In the past four years, calls for services have increased, which means store owners and employees are using the police as a resource – and keeping theft down.

 

“The more employees know about the warning signs of a shoplifter, the more empowered they feel to call us for assistance,” Hillen said.

 

Woodland Mall has certainly seen positive impacts of Operation P.R.I.C.E. since its inception. This year, Kentwood Police will be more visible than ever in the mall.

 

“We appreciate how proactive Operation P.R.I.C.E. and the Kentwood Police have worked to keep retail fraud down during the busy holiday season,” said Lyndsey Hicks, director of marketing at Woodland Mall. “More than just the visibility of seeing officers in and around the mall, store owners have expressed gratitude about the education provided to spot potential shoplifters. The personal connection between officers and employees makes it easy to call for help when suspicious activity is spotted.”

 

In addition to focusing on retail theft, police presence is increased on the roadways, which also reduces speeding and traffic incidents.

 

Operation P.R.I.C.E will run from Nov. 24 – Jan. 5. During this time, shoppers will see police officers in stores near the Woodland Mall and along 28th Street, West Michigan’s prime retail corridor.

The Five Finger Discount During the Holidays

Citizen Journalism, Crime Prevention, Local Business, , , ,

ShopliftingThe Michigan State Police reported over 21,000 people were caught defrauding major retailers in 2014, counting for 8.3% of all criminal arrests in Michigan alone. This has led to retailers boosting prices to make up for the theft. From the beginning of the holiday busy season in October through the start of the new year in January, retail stores see their greatest sales volume of the year, but this particular quarter also accounts for half of all retail shrinkage.

There’s a common misconception among those who “lift” that the big retailers can afford the loss of a candy bar or a pack of smokes since it doesn’t really add up to a hill of beans when compared to the cash flow in the day-to-day business of retailers. However, all the fraud and theft adds up to $44 billion in what the retailers call “shrinkage”.

In Kent county alone, of 629,000 residents, 2,359 arrests were made for ‘the ol’ five finger discount’ or retail fraud, comprising 16% of all criminal arrests in the county.

According to Data Mine, women comprise 53% of shoplifting and fraud arrests, with white women comprising a third of those total arrests. However, you are three times more likely to be arrested for suspicion of shoplifting as a black woman. Likewise, black men are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested.

ShopliftingIn addition to the gender disparity, two-thirds of shoplifting involved items priced under $200. This is classified as third-degree shoplifting, with second degree involving items priced between $200 and $1000, and first-degree consisting of items above $1000. Meanwhile, only 91% of the arrests for shoplifting concerned actual theft, while 5% dealt with fraudulent exchanges and 4% with misrepresented, switching price tags for higher priced items.

Those arrested for shoplifting ranged in age from 9 to 92 years old, with four different 9-year-olds, one 90-year old woman, and one 92-year old white man arrested for such offenses. And of all the metropolitan areas and counties in the Mitten, Cadillac has the highest rate of theft and fraud per thousand residents.