U., city police to meet with local retailers

Plan to discussPlan to discussrecent theft wave University City retailers will meet with University and Philadelphia Police tomorrow to discuss a soon-to-be-launched pilot program designed to better foster a partnership between retailers and police. The program, modeled after a system currently used by Center City retailers and Philadelphia Police, is a reaction to a wave of retail theft and armed robberies in the University City area. In the most recent robbery, the Cinnabon bakery at 3405 Walnut Street was robbed at gunpoint on Saturday, marking the third incident at the bakery in just over a month. Cinnabon reported that a male in his late teens entered the store at approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday, according to University Police Captain John Richardson. After waiting for other customers to leave the store, the man showed the cashier a gun and asked her to open the register, Cinnabon manager Joe Maguire said. Richardson added that between $300 and $1,000 in cash was reported stolen. The incident was similar to a robbery at the bakery earlier last month. On March 6, a male entered the store at approximately 3:18 p.m. and, after pointing a gun at employees, took $200 in cash. Just over a week prior to that incident, Cinnabon reported the theft of $100 in cash and three boxes of cinnamon buns between 3 a.m on February 25 and 6 a.m. on the 26th. The bottom window of the bakery's door was smashed in the burglary. Also on the 3400 block of Walnut Street, an armed robbery took place at Foot Locker on January 27, when a gunman stole almost $2,000 in cash, in addition to $1,000 in merchandise. And Sam Goody's at 130 South 34th Street -- along with several restaurants in the food court at 3401 Walnut Street -- have all experienced retail theft during the last month. "From what I understand, this is a relatively new problem," said Maguire, who pointed out that Cinnabon has been at its current location for eight years without suffering problems like the recent robberies. Individual stores have started to take special precautions against future crimes. Foot Locker has hired an armed guard. Maguire said Cinnabon plans to invest in an alarm system with motion detectors to prevent after-hours thefts. A camera and monitor will be purchased to deter holdups. He added that employees have been instructed to drop and deposit money from the register more often. Maguire said that although none of the employees have become hysterical, several have expressed concern. "You always have to watch what a guest is going to pull out -- money or a gun," he said. Formerly, a University Police mini-station was located at 3400 Walnut Street, but the station was replaced by a transit stop manned by an Allied Guard. "The transit stop provides a place where students can wait out of the weather and under the watchful eye of a guard," Richardson said. He added that this change freed up the police officer assigned to that sector, who is now able to patrol the street and shops. "We can't have a police substation on every block in the city, or a cop in every store," Maguire said. Richardson said police have made no arrests in any of the incidents.