With the holidays around the corner, local business see an increase in shoppers. They also see a rise in shoplifters.
“Now that the holidays are here, the shoppers are coming out,” said Phillip Howard, owner of Troy’s Ski Lubbock. “As store traffic increases around the holidays, theft obviously is going to increase.”
“It’s just something me and my staff have to be a little more vigilant about,” Howard explained. “We need to just kind of know that it’s going to happen, and that things are going to take place and we just need to be a little more vigilant about watching and making sure that we’re aware of who’s in the store and what’s going on while they’re in the store.”
Howard’s business was targeted on October 26, when a man made off with almost $300 in merchandise.
According to the police report, Howard followed the suspect outside to “confront” him.
Police said Howard sustained injuries to his arm and hand, as he grabbed and broke the driver’s side mirror to the suspect’s truck.
The suspect, was later identified through surveillance video as Riley Harris, 31. Harris has a history of similar crimes, records show.
“This is something that wasn’t just an opportunistic crime. He was actually coming in here on purpose,” Howard explained.
Other businesses have also been targeted by shoplifters.
“Theft picks up this time of year. The busier our shoppers get, the more people try to take advantage of the situation,” said Kyle Jones, owner of Mountain Hideaway.
“Be diligent. Be aware,” Jones explained.
Jones stated that his employees “combat” theft issues with “good customer service.”
“The better we take care of our customers, the least likely we are to get taken advantage of,” Jones said.
Howard recommended people who own businesses of any size to file police reports if crimes occur, no matter how small the theft may be.
“I’ve talked to other business owners who say ‘well if it’s under a certain dollar value it’s not worth it or the police won’t look at it.’ They absolutely will. We’ve proven that,” Howard explained.
“So far over the last few months, we’ve identified three [thieves]. All three have been caught, identified, and prosecuted,” Howard added.
He said his security system cost about $600, and utilizes 16 cameras.
“Some, we’re going to catch, and obviously, some we’re not going to catch,” he explained. “We do a pretty good job of trying to get everybody identified, if something comes up missing.”
“We just all need to be vigilant about keeping an eye out. Making sure that we are allowing customers the freedom to peruse the store, but also with them knowing that we’re watching and we’ve got an eye out for everybody,” Howard stated.