Shoplifting: How Big a Problem in Ross Township?

With so many retail stores along the McKnight Road corridor, it might not be surprising that shoplifting is a common crime in Ross Township.

But just how common? 

According to incident reports provided by Ross Township police, officers responded to 10 reports of shoplifting between April 30 and May 6. 

The incidents were spread out and included stores inside Ross Park Mall, North Hills Village and McIntyre Square. Several smaller, independent stores were also hit.

"With the Ross retail corridor being so big, it brings a significant amount of retail theft," said Ross Detective Brian Kohlhepp.

Ten cases in a week might not seem like a lot, but Kohlhepp says the police department's statistics are just a small percentage of the shoplifting incidents in the township.

"Many of the larger retailers have their own loss prevention departments," said Kohlhepp. "And in many cases, they handle their own retail theft complaints and rarely have to call for police assistance."

Retail experts say all of those loss prevention expenses come at a price, often passed onto the consumer in the form of higher prices.  

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