Theft and shoplifting have always been problems for retail stores. Police in the DeWitt area say the number of crimes is on the rise and some of the thieves have been getting more bold.
"We had an issue last year when a woman actually grabbed five jackets from right over here and took off out the front door and we had to chase her down," said Nate Fox who works as a manager for The Ski Company in DeWitt.
DeWitt Police investigator Randy Andrews says in some cases stores are hit by teams of shoplifters working together. Some of those teams have fought back when confronted. Last weekend police say 33 year old Willie Maeweather forced a teenage girl out of her car at the DeWitt Kmart and stole her bags.
"We were seeing there was an increase in retail theft and during these retail thefts there's also an increase in violence towards either the manager or the loss prevention officer who is trying to make the stop," said Andrews.
DeWitt police and several stores have now formed a coalition that shares information, alerts and strategies for stopping theft. Police say one of the most valuable tools is video - and some stores have already had success sharing video of repeat shoplifters.
"Last year when we had someone attempt to steal stuff from here, the same woman attempted to steal stuff from J.C. Penney in the mall just a week later," said Fox. "They ended up pulling our video footage to help prosecute her."
The coalition between stores and DeWitt police is also working on taking multiple individual minor crimes committed by persistent shoplifters and building them into a larger felony case with much tougher consequences.
