A CREATIVE low-tech anti-theft measure strategically stops thieves and sees success quickly.
New York Police Department detectives created a WhatsApp group for retailers located in the Bronx, New York, to send photos/videos of theft occurring in real-time to identify people better and catch them.
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The anti-theft measure utilizes direct contact and keeping a log of it on WhatsApp.
It is a pilot that has been offered to retailers for a few weeks and has already seen success with arrests, New York Post reported.
Large retailers like Walmart and Target along with smaller retailers can use the chat to report the thieves.
The pilot comes as theft rates have risen in the Bronx but calling 911 was not working to catch the thieves.
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According to data from NYPD, robberies are up 5% in the Bronx just in the first three weeks of 2024.
Eddie Vargas, who operates a Pioneer supermarket in the Bronx aid police responded in just five minutes after a thieve was reported to the chat.
“One of my colleagues caught a guy shoplifting and instead of calling 911 he called the crime prevention team and they were there in five minutes,” Vargas told NY Post.
Carlos Collado, who owns two Fine Fare stores in the Bronx and Harlem, said the WhatsApp chats have been great at logging repeated offenders.
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“The idea is to aggregate these crimes [so we know] when someone has exceeded the misdemeanor threshold,” Collado told NY Post.
“We saw the fastest response ever.”
In September 2023, Target released a statement that it had to close nine Target stores across four states, effective on October 21 due to theft.
'Are we criminals' angry Safeway shoppers demand after extreme anti-theft gates in store force you to scan your receipt_“We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance,” Target said on its website.
“We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all.”
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said if theft rates were not reduced the company would need to close stores and raise prices.
“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” he told CNBC’s Squawk Box in December 2022.
“If that’s not corrected over time, prices will be higher, and/or stores will close."
