Thefts at outlet mall
Cincinnati Premium Outlets has reported 85 thefts since being part of Monroe. The highest theft rates include:
Saks 5th Avenue Off 5th: 10
Solstice Sunglass Boutique: 9
Ultra Diamonds: 5
Cole Haan: 4
Coach: 3
Carter’s: 3
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MONROE — There have been 85 thefts at Cincinnati Premium Outlets off Ohio 63 and Interstate 75 in Warren County since the mall opened in August 2009.
Monroe Police Lieutenant Brian Curlis said the majority of incidents the department responds to at the outlet mall involve shoplifting.
“It’s unfortunate that we’ve had that many thefts, but my goodness, that’s not a lot when you look at tens of thousands of visitors each day,” he said. The mall’s easy access to the interstate and busy customer base, Curlis said, allows shoplifting suspects to blend in with shoppers.
“You have 80 plus stores over there now open, and you’re attracting tens of thousands of visitors a week and sometimes 10,000 people in a day,” he said.
“The reason is just because of the sheer number of people. You have a mall now; before you had a field. Nothing was stolen from the field. Now you have a mall there. It’s development and growth.”
Children’s clothes and jewelry are the hot commodity because they are easy to sell quickly on the streets, police said.
While they are still hoping for leads to solve some diamond and jewelry thefts at the mall, other shoplifters have been charged and punished through Lebanon Municipal Court.
Judy Scott, chief deputy clerk at the court, said there have been a “significant” number in theft charges filed by Monroe Police with the court in the last three years since the mall opened in August 2009.
In 2008 — prior to the opening — the police department filed eight theft charges with the court. In 2009 that number rose to 12, she said.
As of this past week, that number has tripled. Forty-two theft charges have gone through the court this year, increasing the expenses to hire court-appointed attorneys to represent suspects who request representation.
The charges don’t include companion charges the department might have filed, such as receiving stolen property and possession of criminal tools, she said.
“That’s why I’m wondering if they increased enforcement or changed enforcement policies,” Scott said.
Curlis said the department has not increased its enforcement or changed policies, but instead has become more aggressive.
“We’re a very proactive police department and we don’t have high crime areas in our city. We have the resources that we can devote to our business areas that some other larger cities don’t have,” he said.
Mike Worley, the department’s community service officer, is working with all the businesses to help clamp down on thefts.
“He attends meetings up there to see if they can prevent crimes and also help with information. If we have a picture of somebody that we know has been stealing at a store before, we might pass that photograph out on that individual and say you need to be on the look out for this individual,” Curlis said.
“There are proactive steps that we’re taking besides just having the officers — if they’re in their down time — go out there and walk around.”
Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th has had the most thefts, but is one of the most successful stores in combating theft because it has its own loss prevention officers, he said.
Saks officials declined to comment about its store security.
Curlis said the department works closely with all the retail stores and Valor Security Services in policing the mall.
The security guards may detain shoplifting suspects but may not make arrests because they are not sworn police officers, he said.
“We give them intelligence information and they pass intel back to us. They’re told to call us anytime they need us,” Curlis said.
He said the department is doing an “excellent job” in arresting suspects committing thefts at the mall.
“We do a lot of things to deter the thefts right now, like trying to be seen. When we get a call we’re pretty much on it,” he said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxohio.com.
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