New York’s Staten Island. The bright decorations at the Staten Island Mall in New Springville during this time of year give customers who visit the shopping center a feeling of holiday pleasure.
Those that prey on company owners and act like Grinches ruin what could otherwise be a safe and enjoyable shopping experience in the midst of the festive spirit.
Last week, Deputy Inspector Glorisel Lee, the commanding officer of the 121st Precinct in Graniteville, met with local retailers at the mall with Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the NYPD’s new borough commander for Staten Island, to discuss the measures being taken to reduce retail theft throughout the borough.
The establishment of a borough-wide NYPD retail theft task force is one of these recent efforts, and it may help the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office hold repeat criminals accountable by collecting information from merchants.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, right, and Deputy Inspector Glorisel Lee, left, the commanding officer of the 121st Precinct in Graniteville, speak with staff members at the Gerald Peters store in the Staten Island Mall. (Jan Somma-Hammel/Staten Island Advance)(Jan Somma-Hammel/Staten Island Advance)
According to NYPD CompStat data, significant crime in the borough has decreased by 8.3% so far this year. But according to Eger, retail theft on Staten Island has increased by 9% this year compared to last.
Eger intends to prioritize retail theft in an effort to reduce that number.
Since the 2020 legislative reforms, the Staten Island retail community has experienced significant changes, according to Eger. Multiple retail thefts at the same retail outlets are perpetrated by the same recidivists.
NYPD retail theft task force
Eger is creating a Staten Island NYPD unit this holiday season specifically to target this exact crime.
Select officers will be assigned to the same retail locations in an effort to increase police presence in shopping centers, according to Eger. This will allow them to meet with business owners, learn about the community, identify subjects of interest, and target recidivist thieves who continue to plague various retailers.
With oversight from our patrol borough and precincts, we’re seeking to assemble this team, and we’re eager to see the outcomes,” Eger said.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, Assistant Chief Melissa Eger and Deputy Inspector Glorisel Lee, left, talk to cops in the Staten Island Mall. (Jan Somma-Hammel/Staten Island Advance)(Jan Somma-Hammel/Staten Island Advance)
According to Eger, this task team will include 16 policemen from the Island’s four precincts as well as two supervisors. These officials will keep an eye on the borough’s shopping districts, such as the Staten Island Mall, Hylan Commons and The Boulevard in New Dorp, the waterfront in the 120th Precinct, and Bricktown Centre in Charleston.
According to Eger, the majority of the officers will be based in the mall.
According to Eger, these cops will be able to collect information by forming partnerships with the retail community, which they can then share with the NYPD’s intelligence and investigation departments as well as the retail community at large.
Information sharing among retailers
The NYPD uses Auror, an independent program utilized by the retail community to communicate real-time information that could help them protect their items, as one method of information gathering.
If a store creates an account and begins using it and someone is stealing from it, they can post his picture and say, “This guy just hit our store an hour ago, took $500 worth of items, you know, this is his photo, he was driving this car,” even if they don’t know who it is. According to NYPD Sgt. Daniel Commender, if they spot the car, they can share the information so that other establishments can see it. In order for the mall to say, “Hey, this guy just dumped Zara; perhaps he’s coming for Sephora next,” Additionally, the website makes the connection if Sephora were to post him an hour later.
Speaking at the Staten Island Mall on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, are Sgt. Daniel Commender, Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, Deputy Inspector Glorisel Lee, and Lisa Correa, manager of the Zara shop. (Jan Somma-Hammel/Staten Island Advance)(Jan Somma-Hammel/Staten Island Advance)
According to the Commender, the program creates a profile by connecting these incidents, giving law enforcement agencies insight on the person they may be interacting with and whether they are a suspected recidivist.
According to Eger, “this app is a great way to share information, so we’re encouraging the retail community to use it.”
Holding perpetrators accountable
In order to fight recidivism, Eger is eager to collaborate closely with the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office.
“We want to hold these retail recidivists accountable who repeatedly hit locations, taking small amounts of items but coming back time and time again,” Eger added. Therefore, we are working jointly to compile those allegations and hold them responsible for a more serious offense.
Michael E. McMahon, the district attorney, himself emphasized legislative reforms in Albany that have strengthened prosecutors’ authority to bring these recidivists accountable.
In a statement, McMahon said, “Like many Staten Islanders, I am sick of waiting in line at the pharmacy for someone to unlock the shaving cream while some thug comes in and swipes whatever items are left unlocked.” Recent legislative changes in Albany have strengthened criminal penalties for those who steal from our borough’s business community by enabling my prosecutors to aggregate the total value of goods stolen by repeat retail thieves. This allows petit larceny cases to be elevated into felonious grand larcenies. This new law has made it possible for law enforcement to hold retail recidivists more accountable in court. My office has seized the opportunity to prosecute numerous cases in the seven months since the law’s inception.
Additionally, McMahon talked about the establishment of a new unit in his office, saying the following:
My office’s recently formed Retail Recidivist Unit will continue to prosecute shoplifters to the fullest extent of the law, working closely with Assistant Chief Eger, the valiant men and women of New York’s Finest, and our borough’s retailers. We are thankful to Governor Hochul and State Senator [Jessica] Scarcella-Spanton for securing this pro-public safety provision in this year’s state budget.
Scarcella-Spanton has taken action to safeguard retail employees, as McMahon stated. The state senator’s plan would make assaulting a retail employee a Class E felony, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in jail.
“We’re working closely with the district attorney’s office to build the best cases for the best prosecution because we arrest the same offenders every day, every week, and they come and go from the system,” Eger stated.
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