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  • Retail theft in Bensalem up more than double post-pandemic. How police are fighting back

    Retail theft in Bensalem up more than double post-pandemic. How police are fighting back

    A guy walks into a home improvement store carrying a suitcase.

    What sounds like the opening for a dad joke is how authorities say a 25-year-old Brooklyn man stole nearly $9,000 in electrical items at two home improvement retailers earlier this year.

    Three times Noe Zapata entered Home Depot stores in Bensalem and walked out with merchandise including one trip where he allegedly used luggage to hide his haul, police said.

    Zapata is one of hundreds of retail theft suspects that Bensalem police have identified through its recently expanded campaign aimed at reducing and preventing retail thefts.

    Bensalem police allege Noe Zapata, of Brooklyn NY, is a serial shoplifter who used luggage to conceal more than $8,000 in electronic tools and circuit breakers from the Home Depot stores in the township.

    Bensalem police allege Noe Zapata, of Brooklyn NY, is a serial shoplifter who used luggage to conceal more than $8,000 in electronic tools and circuit breakers from the Home Depot stores in the township.

    More Bensalem crime news Bensalem police think break-ins targeted Asian American business owners; here’s why

    Last year businesses reported almost 900 incidents of retail theft, which is more than double since 2019, when 484 were reported, Director of Public Safety William McVey said.

    Bensalem’s post-pandemic theft rate aligns with a trend seen across Pennsylvania, where retail theft reports are up 30% statewide, McVey said.

    Suspects are also becoming more brazen, he said. They bring plastic shopping bags (or luggage) to fill up or pile merchandise into shopping carts and wheel it past security.

    Also not unusual is for suspects to hit the same retail store repeatedly.

    Philadelphia resident Richard Santana Aponte allegedly visited the same Giant supermarket on Street Road 11 days in a row in March and walked out with items totaling more than $3,300 before he was arrested recently.

    A 30-year-old Philadelphia man was recently charged with stealing nearly $2,000 worth of items, mostly Lego sets over several months from the Bensalem Target.

    Popular and high-end items that can be resold on the black market are what most shoplifters target, McVey said.

    His department has seen people stealing batteries from drug stores and clearing Red Bull drinks off shelves. One suspect attempted to steal two garbage bags with high-end sneakers.

    Many suspects who police end up identifying — like Zapata who is awaiting extradition from New York City  — live outside the county, and the state, and they may be part of a larger theft network, McVey said.

    Police found a list of Kohls locations in the phone history of an out-of-state woman arrested for attempting to leave a Bensalem Kohls with a suitcase filled with expensive perfume, McVey said.

    While Bensalem has a high clearance rate for retail thefts — 60% are caught and prosecuted —McVey believes deterrence is equally important.

    Bensalem police are asking retail businesses to post this flier in their establishments as a deterrent as part of its new crackdown on retail thefts.Bensalem police are asking retail businesses to post this flier in their establishments as a deterrent as part of its new crackdown on retail thefts.

    Bensalem police are asking retail businesses to post this flier in their establishments as a deterrent as part of its new crackdown on retail thefts.

    What is “Bensalem Secure” and how is it addressing retail thefts

    The police department, township Economic Development Corporation and local business owners launched “Bensalem Secure,” a task force focused on reducing retail theft in the township and region.

    The effort kicked off earlier this year and provides local business owners with free theft-deterrent resources, workshops and information sharing.

    As part of the task force strategy, McVey has assigned more traffic enforcement in areas with high incidents of retail thefts to serve as a visible presence.

    The department is also pushing out more surveillance videos and photos on social media to encourage community involvement and tips on suspect identities. Frequently suspected shoplifters are repeat offenders wanted in other communities, McVey said.

    Most recently Bensalem started posting online a weekly list of retail theft arrests including the names, stores, amounts and mug shots on its social media accounts and Crimewatch pages.

    The first three lists contained 33 names with amounts allegedly  stolen ranging from $20 to more than $1,000. The majority of thefts occurred at Target, Home Depot, Boscov’s, Wawa and Walmart, according to the list.

    The public exposure of suspected shoplifters is part of the township’s zero tolerance policy, McVey said.

    “We are willing to arrest anyone who steals. We wanted that message out there,” McVey said. “People can’t be this brazen to think they can load up a grocery store cart, or luggage and walk out and think they have no consequences.”

    Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com

    This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bensalem police fight huge spike in retail thefts

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  • California Democrats bring down the hammer on crime — or try to

    California Democrats bring down the hammer on crime — or try to

    SACRAMENTO, California — The speaker of the California Assembly and fellow Democrats Tuesday will announce a package of bills targeting retail theft — all without touching a landmark criminal justice measure voters approved nearly a decade ago.

    A wide-ranging proposal from Speaker Robert Rivas and Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur would allow police to make arrests without witnessing the incident or footage of it, establish a new crime targeting “serial” theft and allow the value of stolen items from multiple retailers within 60 days to be aggregated into a grand theft, which can be a felony.

    “Organized retail crime and theft are harming our communities, undermining business owners and eroding people’s confidence in law and order. That ends today,” Rivas told POLITICO.

    Their approach is something of a balancing act. Frustrations over property crime have dominated the political conversation in recent months, yet Gov. Gavin Newsom and top legislative leaders have been reluctant to alter Proposition 47, which downgraded a number of crimes to misdemeanors in 2014.

    At the same time, Prop 47 has come under intensifying scrutiny — including from Democratic Mayors Todd Gloria of San Diego and London Breed of San Francisco, who support a new ballot initiative to soften it.

    The suite of seven new bills — including Rivas and Zbur’s proposal — would make it easier to arrest suspected shoplifters while stiffening penalties for organized retail crime. None of those policies would require changes to Prop 47.

    Zbur, who chairs the Select Committee on Retail Theft, said the package would give relief to businesses suffering from an uptick in retail crime without returning to overly-punitive policies.

    “We’re doing this while preserving the good elements of criminal justice reform so that we’re not putting people in prison needlessly,” Zbur said.

    The legislation would also:

    — Specify that repeated possession of a “quantity of goods inconsistent with personal use” could be used as intent to resell

    — Require major retailers to share some theft data

    — Require online sellers to maintain records of legally acquiring goods

    — Ensure nuisance actions aren’t brought against retailers who make frequent calls to law enforcement related to theft

    — Expand the use of diversion and rehabilitative programs for shoplifting and petty theft

    Rivas said he opposes any changes to Prop 47.

    “I believe a return to the ballot to address retail theft is not necessary because the Assembly’s plan delivers real and urgent changes for Californians,” he said.

    Zbur said the package “is much more robust in addressing organized crime than the proposals that are focused on Prop 47.”

    Other legislation in the package include a proposal from Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria to allow extended jail time for property crimes over $50,000 in value — reducing the current $100,000 threshold — and one from Assemblymember Marc Berman allowing courts to issue longer, broader restraining orders for thefts or vandalism.

    The bills’ authors — which also include Public Safety Chair Kevin McCarty and Assemblymembers Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Jacqui Irwin and Juan Alanis — will share details of their proposals this morning, joined by Attorney General Rob Bonta and representatives of the retail industry.

    Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO’s California Playbook newsletter.

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  • Retail theft suspects wheel away carts of Spam, other grocery items before Roseville chase

    Retail theft suspects wheel away carts of Spam, other grocery items before Roseville chase

    Roseville police officers detained a suspect Thursday accused of stealing more than two carts full of Spam and other food products from a grocery store, police said.

    Officers were called to the 9000 block of Woodcreek Boulevard for reports of a theft. Two suspects are accused of stealing enough Spam, coffee, Dove soap bars and alcohol that filled multiple carts, according to pictures provided by police.

    The Roseville Police Department is investigating a retail theft in which more than $9,000 worth of stolen products were recovered after an incident at a grocery store. Roseville Police Department
    The Roseville Police Department is investigating a retail theft in which more than $9,000 worth of stolen products were recovered after an incident at a grocery store. Roseville Police Department

    A pursuit began after officers found the suspect’s vehicle. It ended in a residential area when suspects abandoned the car and began running away on foot, police said.

    Officers detained the driver but couldn’t find the passenger, police said. It was unclear if the passenger was arrested. Lt. Chris Ciampa, a spokesman with the Roseville Police Department, did not immediately return a request for comment.

    More than $9,000 worth of stolen items were recovered by officers, police said in an online post.

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