St. Paul Police Form Unit To Fight Organized Shoplifting
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- St. Paul police say half of the shoplifting in their city is due to organized crime, but a first-of-its-kind unit is targeting those thieves.
The department has formed an organized retail crime unit that will go after the people who steal household items and resell them -- products like laundry detergent, razors and baby food.
The National Retail Federation said across the country, this kind of crime costs stores $30 billion a year.
The new unit will review all of the city's shoplifting cases and pinpoint which are acts of desperation and which are part of a bigger ring.
