Thing is a big problem in Portland,
and now some stores are changing
the way they operate in order
to try and curb the crime.
Our Tim Gordon joins us from the
Safeway in downtown Portland,
and Tim Shoppers can see some of
these new efforts at that store.
Yeah, that's right.
You know and all those Safeway and
is not really talking specifics
about that and we can clearly
see that they and other stores
are adding separate shopping and
checkout areas within the stores
farther away from the front doors.
The shoplifting epidemic in Portland
is happening in plain sight.
KGW has documented people stealing
armloads of products that security
experts like Scott Castleman say
are resold on the black market.
In my career of loss prevention,
I've never seen anything to the
degree that we have today with the
brazenness of the top of the zonian,
knowing that they won't get confused,
they don't even try to
conceal anything anymore.
If you walk into the Safeway
store at SW 10th and Jefferson,
you can see what they are now.
Doing to try and stop it.
Adding a dedicated secured area
within the store for what appears
to be the most lifted items.
You have to pay there before you can
ever get close to the exit doors.
Maybe that gives security officers
a better chance to stop the theft.
Safeway is not talking about their strategy
here or at the Safeway store in the Pearl.
The two stores we found with
the new more secure areas,
Safeway sent us a one line response reading.
Like other local businesses,
we are working on ways to
curtail escalating theft.
To ensure the safety of our
employees and foster a welcoming
environment for our loyal customers,
Castleman has decades of experience
in security and loss prevention.
He is not convinced this type of
strategy will make much difference,
especially if staff and security are
not allowed to stop and detain people,
effectively making citizens
arrests as Oregon law allows.
I'm telling you, the more these people
start getting felony convictions,
the more they're going to stop
shoplifting because, again,
those involved in the criminal element.
Talk to other people and they
know who's thoughts on crime
and who's hard on something.
Near the Jefferson St.
Safeway is a Plaid pantry.
This convenience store is one of a
half dozen with security concerns
that could end up closing them.
The local convenience store
chain is trying to avoid that.
So in the past year,
management has installed walk
up windows like at a bank.
Customers are not allowed
in the stores at night.
It's not efficient,
it's not good customer service,
but it's just the only way in
certain stores that we can.
Control that situation,
Plaid pantries Jonathan Polonsky
says there's not room in the
profit margin for security guards,
and employee safety always comes first.
We really preach hard about de escalation,
so it's pretty demoralizing when somebody
literally walks in with a shopping
bag ways that the associate says hi,
goes through the store, loads up their bag.
Walks out the door and says see you
tomorrow and they're back the next day.
Back at the bigger grocery stores
like the gateway, Fred Meyer,
we are used to seeing products locked
behind plexiglass where paying customers
have to wait for assistance to get to them.
This is the new separate shopping
areas we are seeing now at Safeway
are the inconvenient reality,
Castleman says. Apprehension,
police response and prosecution
is what's worked in the past.
Attempting Jefferson Safeway.
I worked there in 1992 or 1993.
We got hundreds of shoplifters
out of there, hundreds.
But there were very few
would ever come back.
For Polonsky, it's safety first,
but he agrees there needs
to be more consequences to
turn the tide on shoplifting.
We have a great relationship
with law enforcement,
and I know they're pressed
just like everybody right now,
but we've got to do more to
hold people accountable.
And back here live showing you on incident
down there at the corner of the Safeway
with Portland police and ambulance on
the scene right now I did reach out to
Portland police and the DA's office.
PPB did get back to me saying
they understand the frustration.
Yes they are short staffed and focused
on violent crimes, gun violence,
homicides, but they do get to
property crimes as often as they can.
They will investigate them and
they will work with the DA as much
as possible to prosecute as well.
Ashley, back to you.
All right, Tim. Thank you.