Retail thefts here soar as economy slumps
UP 9.6% IN '08 | Sales of stolen goods boom as stores beef up security July 18, 2009
BY SANDRA GUY sguy@suntimes.com
Kelly Bry, owner of Ouest Boutique in Wicker Park, has moved the most expensive of her chic women's dresses and outfits to the back of the store after two dresses worth $300 each were stolen from her shop last winter and a police flier recently warned her of robberies in the area.
"We just had a police officer come here to give me a flier about armed robberies in the area," said Bry, 30, who has run her boutique for three years. The police flier said the robber implies he has a gun and grabs cash from the register.
Chicago experienced a 9.6 percent increase in retail thefts in 2008 from 2007, to 11,289 incidents from 10,300, mirroring a national trend of increased shoplifting during a period of tough economic times, according to police reports and National Retail Federation data. So far this year, Chicago's thefts are down about 2.4 percent, but retailers and police are on alert for thefts brought on by dire economic conditions.
One Chicago Police district officer said signs of economic hardship pop up, including the May arrest for armed robbery of a suburban man with no prior record who said he needed to pay his mortgage.
In addition, some Chicago area retailers who refuse to disclose theft frequency have started installing anti-theft devices. Shoppers may have noticed new electronic-detection "pedestals" at the major entry and exit points at Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue, a new entry turnstile at a CVS drugstore in River North and security guards standing over the self-checkout lanes in local grocery stores. ..............(more)
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