Collaboration with retailers lowers crime rates

Retail theft rates decreased by 11.1 percent in 2009 compared to 2008. The trend appears to be continuing this year, as retail thefts dropped 26.7 percent this January, compared to January 2009.

The reduction can be attributed partly to the Division of Public Safety’s ongoing collaborative efforts with University City retail establishments to strengthen crime prevention, according to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush.

In accordance with DPS’s community policing model, officers pay several unscheduled visits each day to every commercial establishment within the Penn Patrol Zone — which extends from 30th to 43rd streets and from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue. Officers sign store police logs and communicate with store managers and employees during these visits.

The visits form part of DPS’s sector integrity program, which assigns officers to specific areas within the Penn Patrol Zone in order to familiarize them with the establishments within his or her sector.

Officers also attend quarterly meetings with retailers in which security concerns and possible solutions are discussed, according to Ed Datz, executive director of real estate at Penn.

“When [University City was] having a shoplifting problem with restaurants, they alerted us to the fact that there was an issue,” he said, adding that afterwards, retailers were invited to a meeting to talk about the issue.

Past meetings led to the incorporation of cameras in retail establishments, both as a deterrent and as a means of identifying the offenders in the event of a theft.

In addition, Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate services firm that oversees retail on behalf of the University, holds three to four meetings annually at which store owners convene and receive information about retail security. Currently, Capt. Joe Fischer and Penn Police Chief Mark Dorsey attend these meetings as Penn Police liaisons.

Rush also said merchants’ “target hardening” of their stores is a crucial component of theft prevention.

“Salespeople are more aware of people who appear not to be really shopping but thinking of how to commit a retail theft, and being proactive by calling us ahead of time,” she said. “Also, instead of putting the clothing that’s easy to pick up [near exits], some of them have done a better job of displaying merchandise.”

When a retail theft does occur, the perpetrator is frequently apprehended as far as “four blocks away” from the scene with the assistance of the closed-circuit television camera system installed in the area, Rush said.

“Our cameras follow them until the police can arrest them,” she said, adding that the current apprehension rate is “very high.”

Collectively terming the commercial establishments within University City its “retailscape,” Rush explained that Penn Facilities and Real Estate Services, Penn Police officers, PennComm operators and retail merchants all work closely to ensure a “safe experience” for store patrons.

Datz characterized the retail sector as “a community within a community inside the city.”

“[The] opportunity to work side by side and form relationships — that’s the biggest benefit,” he said of the collaboration.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.