It's peak shopping — and shoplifting — season. Cops are stepping up antitheft tactics
Merchants say retail thefts have become more frequent and brazen. Law enforcement is now putting more money into things like store stakeouts and task forces that track organized retail crime rings.
BELLEVUE, Wash. — There's been a lot of anger and frustration about retail theft in recent years, especially as viral videos of smash-and-grab crimes proliferate online. But lately, when you talk to people who work in the retail "loss prevention" world, they're surprisingly ubpeat.
"There's definitely been some progress made," says Tony Sheppard, vice president of retail risk solutions for ThinkLP. He's worked in the industry for decades, starting out as a store detective at Montgomery Ward. He sees new energy in law enforcement efforts to combat this type of theft.
"The INFORM act passed," he says, referring to a requiring platforms such as Facebook Marketplace.
