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Hannibal, MO —
Tis the season for not just giving, but also taking.
Ad Week recently reported that entering the holiday shopping season, shoplifting was already up 6 percent in 2011.
In Hannibal and Marion County, incidents of shoplifting had not jumped, according to Lt. John Zerbonia of the police department and Sheriff Jimmy Shinn.
“At this time of year crimes of opportunity and shoplifting increase, but I haven’t seen too many reports on either one lately,” said Zerbonia, adding that most merchants do a good job of protecting themselves from thieves.
Typically, the HPD steps up patrols in shopping centers and retail store areas at this time of year, added Zerbonia.
The most frequently shoplifted item? Filet mignon.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in the last two years the loss rate for luxury meat has risen 21 percent.
Following meat, shoplifters’ priorities were: (2) Jameson Whisky; (3) Electric tools such as power tools and electric toothbrushes; (4) iPhone4; (5) Gillette Mach 4 razor; (6) Axe body washes and deodorants; (7) Polo Ralph Lauren; (8) Let’s Rock Elmo; (9) Chanel No. 5; (10) Nikes.
Neither Shinn and Zerbonia came close to guessing shoplifters’ No. 1 preference.
“I’d never heard that. Really?” asked Zerbonia.
“I guess they’re selling them on the black market, I don’t know. That kind of surprises me. It really does,” said Shinn. “I’d look at this time of year for the most stolen items to be electronics and things of that nature for Christmas presents.”
John Elliott, public affairs manager with Kroger, reports that the theft of meat is not a major problem.
“Filet is occasionally an item that is taken. It’s not necessarily been the pattern there in Hannibal,” he said. “It is in most stores the highest dollars-per-pound price of any cut of meat. That may make the temptation a little higher, but we really have not seen a seasonal increase. It doesn’t necessarily stand out as an unusual theft item for us.”
According to Elliott, other types of dishonestly are a bigger concern for the Kroger company.
“Where we have seen an increase in crime affecting the stores is bad checks and efforts to defraud customers through Western Union scams. Those are two categories of crime that have gone up,” he said. “Obviously a successful Western Union scam would have a significant impact on an individual where the bad check costs end up being shared by all customers. We have to sell that much more food or product to make up for bad check losses. The degree of impact on that frankly depends on whether or not the local prosecutors will cooperate with us in filing charges.”
Tis the season for not just giving, but also taking.
Ad Week recently reported that entering the holiday shopping season, shoplifting was already up 6 percent in 2011.
In Hannibal and Marion County, incidents of shoplifting had not jumped, according to Lt. John Zerbonia of the police department and Sheriff Jimmy Shinn.
“At this time of year crimes of opportunity and shoplifting increase, but I haven’t seen too many reports on either one lately,” said Zerbonia, adding that most merchants do a good job of protecting themselves from thieves.
Typically, the HPD steps up patrols in shopping centers and retail store areas at this time of year, added Zerbonia.
The most frequently shoplifted item? Filet mignon.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in the last two years the loss rate for luxury meat has risen 21 percent.
Following meat, shoplifters’ priorities were: (2) Jameson Whisky; (3) Electric tools such as power tools and electric toothbrushes; (4) iPhone4; (5) Gillette Mach 4 razor; (6) Axe body washes and deodorants; (7) Polo Ralph Lauren; (8) Let’s Rock Elmo; (9) Chanel No. 5; (10) Nikes.
Neither Shinn and Zerbonia came close to guessing shoplifters’ No. 1 preference.
“I’d never heard that. Really?” asked Zerbonia.
“I guess they’re selling them on the black market, I don’t know. That kind of surprises me. It really does,” said Shinn. “I’d look at this time of year for the most stolen items to be electronics and things of that nature for Christmas presents.”
John Elliott, public affairs manager with Kroger, reports that the theft of meat is not a major problem.
“Filet is occasionally an item that is taken. It’s not necessarily been the pattern there in Hannibal,” he said. “It is in most stores the highest dollars-per-pound price of any cut of meat. That may make the temptation a little higher, but we really have not seen a seasonal increase. It doesn’t necessarily stand out as an unusual theft item for us.”
According to Elliott, other types of dishonestly are a bigger concern for the Kroger company.
“Where we have seen an increase in crime affecting the stores is bad checks and efforts to defraud customers through Western Union scams. Those are two categories of crime that have gone up,” he said. “Obviously a successful Western Union scam would have a significant impact on an individual where the bad check costs end up being shared by all customers. We have to sell that much more food or product to make up for bad check losses. The degree of impact on that frankly depends on whether or not the local prosecutors will cooperate with us in filing charges.”
