By The Associated Press
DENVER (AP) -- Retailers nationwide and in Colorado are counting on the next few weeks for a significant portion of their annual sales.
But as the holiday season brings anticipation, it also brings preparation -- not for the shoppers who hand over cash, checks and credit cards to pay for merchandise, but for those shoppers who choose not to pay at all.
“It’s certainly not the happy news of the holiday season,” said JoAnn Groff, president of the Colorado Retail Council, an industry group. “Retailers try to go as far as they can to prevent theft.”
Theft arrests jumped 65 percent last December at FlatIron Crossing in Broomfield. Police Sgt. Dan Schuler said larger holiday crowds include more shoplifters.
Anyone caught shoplifting gets more than a slap on the wrist. All shoplifters at FlatIron are booked at the Broomfield jail.
“They all get fingerprinted and booked, mug shot and everything,” Schuler said. “That probably comes as a surprise to people who’ve been caught shoplifting in other malls.”
Broomfield police have a substation at the mall staffed by eight full-time officers. Uniformed officers patrol the shopping center and outlying stores.
“A lot of times, just our visibility is a deterrent,” Schuler said.
Shoplifters took more than $11 billion worth of merchandise from stores last year, according to a study by the accounting firm Ernst & Young. Retailers pass that cost on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Many of the thefts, according to stores and law enforcement, occur in November and December.
Undercover officers also work parking lots to catch break-ins. Police warn shoppers against leaving valuables and bags full of gifts visible in their cars.
At Park Meadows in Douglas County, several sheriff’s deputies are on special assignment at the mall.
Officials keep a sharp eye out for professional shoplifters, but also watch for anyone who thinks he or she can get away with it, said sheriff’s Capt. Troy McCarty, noting that there’s no such thing as an “average” shoplifter.
“It’s quite evenly mixed -- male, female, juvenile, adult,” McCarty said. “It’s not just one facet of the population.”
McCarty said shoplifters often become desperate to get away and put other people in jeopardy.
That was evident Nov. 20, when suspected shoplifters fired gunshots at a security guard outside a Foley’s store at Westminster Mall.
“More and more we see these people becoming more brazen, not taking into concern anybody’s safety,” McCarty said. “That makes our job much more difficult.”