Does Croton's ShopRite Suffer a Shoplifter Problem?

On Jan. 15 just before 5 p.m., Croton police responded to a report of a larceny in progress at ShopRite. 

The police found a 51-year-old Milwood resident had not "technically" stolen items but it "looked like she was trying to," Camillieri said. He said she went beyond the point of sale with the products but had not yet left the store so could not be charged with any crime.

They advised the woman not to return to the store. 
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Another incident at ShopRite resulted in an arrest. A 41-year-old Bronx woman was charged with petty larceny after allegedly leaving the store with $280 worth of food items. 

Det. Paul Camillieri thought she might have tried to push her cart through the in door. Grocery store theft can be a problem since items don't have security tags the way items often do in department stores. "I've advised multiple stores to secure certain items, but they find out the hard way," he said.

Though he didn't know the contents of her cart on this occasion, he said shoplifters often try to make off with pricey items like Nicorette gum and cold medicines. "You clean out nine things and you have hundreds of dollars worth of product."

Many stores keep items behind the counter or locked up, such as powdered baby formula, popular for thieves since they are "easy to resell to an unscrupulous place," Camillieri said.

Meat, on the other hand, might be tougher to monitor. Meat was the target of several ShopRite larcenies reported over the summer. One man was arrested and another got off with the goods. 

This woman, "who must have had a good amount of groceries," Camillieri said, posted $100 cash bail and was released with a court date. 

Note: an arrest does not indicate a conviction.