By Donald Wittkowski
Sea Isle City’s police chief is using social media to warn shoplifters that they will be prosecuted to the “fullest extent of the law” if caught stealing from local stores.
The police department has begun a new initiative to help business owners protect themselves from shoplifting following an upswing in theft during the busy summer tourism season.
“Effective immediately, we will have officers proactively entering local businesses to check in with merchants and providing store owners with helpful tips in preventing shoplifting acts,” Police Chief Tom McQuillen said in a message on the department’s Facebook page.
McQuillen added that police hope to reduce shoplifting through an educational campaign in partnership with the public and the business community. However, police will also implement a “zero tolerance policy” for shoplifting, including prosecuting offenders to the “fullest extent of the law,” he stressed.
“We encourage parents to have a conversation with their children about the consequences of shoplifting,” he wrote in his Facebook posting.
In an interview, McQuillen said that “quite a few acts of shoplifting” have occurred this summer. He wasn’t sure whether there has been more shoplifting this year compared to previous summers, but noted the problem has been serious enough for police to launch their new initiative.
As part of a community outreach program, uniformed police officers will have a bigger presence in local stores by checking in with merchants more often. McQuillen hopes shoplifters will be scared off if they see police in the stores.
If the shoplifting problems continue, there is a possibility officers will go undercover to help prevent theft, McQuillen said.
“These thefts, which can be for something as simple as a stolen item of clothing, can really hurt a small business owner’s ability to stay in business,” he said.
Not all shop owners can afford sophisticated security systems, so the police department is also offering common sense tips on ways merchants can help themselves, McQuillen said. They include installing mirrors to watch blind spots in their stores, moving the cash registers closer to the front entrance and asking customers not to carry backpacks around.
“I guess they’re smart measures they could implement to make it less likely they would be a victim of shoplifting,” McQuillen said.
Initially, some business owners apparently were reluctant to get police involved, McQuillen explained. Some of them, he said, felt they could handle it themselves by calling the parents of young shoplifters to the store and having them pay for the stolen items instead of going to court.
“The easier path for them is, ‘Let’s get the money now and not involve the police,’” McQuillen said of the store operators.
The police department plans to have additional meetings with business owners to follow up on the results of the new initiative.
In the meantime, McQuillen has turned to social media to drive home the message that shoplifting will not be tolerated in Sea Isle.
“A quick reminder to those thinking of coming to Sea Isle City to shoplift, DON’T DO IT, IT’S NOT WORTH IT! CONSIDER THIS YOUR WARNING!” he wrote, using capital letters to emphasize the point.
