$250,000+ in stolen items puts spotlight on Syracuse's shoplifting crisis

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Police Chief on Thursday raised alarm about shoplifting and its impact on businesses. Chief Joe Cecile pointed to one stark example of what he described as “a large pharmacy chain” and a manager at wits end over the thefts.

“His losses are closing in on a critical mass where a store typically closes,” Ceclie said. The store, which he did not identify by name or location, has seen shoplifting of products exceed $250.000.00 a year, he said.

The City of Syracuse has seen a 55% spike in shoplifting since 2021, police report. “That number is likely higher because businesses often don’t report it – but they do continue to express concerns. They’re having trouble sustaining themselves given the high cost of shoplifting,” Ceclie said.

The National Retail Federation recently released an annual security survey which found shoplifting accounted for more than $112 billion in losses last year.

While violent crime is down 10% year over year, property crime is going up, Syracuse Police say and there is little on the national landscape as far as new ideas about how to fight it. Because of that, Syracuse Police along with other law enforcement agencies and the Governor turned inward and created some of their own plans.

Chief Cecile says his department now has a “swift response” team that puts officers in specific areas that have been identified with high rates of shoplifting.

“We narrowed down the days and times of the most frequent shoplifting and also identified the top twenty subjects involved in repeated shoplifting. This way we can focus on both those parameters and narrow it down and then we can respond when those individuals come into the stores and shoplift again so we can make an arrest."