The Frederick County Sheriff's Office recorded 117 instances of shoplifting from the beginning of the year until Dec. 15, according to Cpl. Jennifer Bailey.

During the same period in 2007, the sheriff's office had 124 shoplifting cases, she said.

Though shoplifting is down this year, Bailey said the agency has seen an overall increase in thefts.

From the beginning of 2007 until Dec. 15 of that year, there were 1,107 thefts, Bailey said. During the same period this year, the sheriff's office recorded 1,171 thefts, an almost 6 percent increase.

The news that property crimes are up serves as a reminder to keep vigilant in safeguarding personal property, Bailey said.

Maryland State Police First Sgt. Chris Sasse said uniformed crime reports stated that during October and November 2007 troopers responded to 10 cases of shoplifting.

During the same two months this year, there were 36 cases, Sasse said.

He attributed the increase, in part, to a spate of shoplifting cases at Claire's Boutique in the Francis Scott Key Mall.

Overall thefts in Frederick city, which include shoplifting and other property crimes, are down about 7 percent so far this year compared to last, Frederick police Chief Kim C. Dine said last week.

A broader perspective

The Retail Industry Leaders Association, a trade group comprising 221 of the nation's largest retail stores, released a survey Dec. 9 of 53 major nationwide retailers to try to determine trends in shoplifting and other crimes resulting from the recent economic downturn.

The survey covered September through November of this year vs. the same months last year.

The report concluded that opportunistic shoplifting increased by 84 percent, financial fraud by 76 percent and organized retail crime by 80 percent.

The report also stated that U.S. retailers spent almost $11.8 billion last year on loss prevention efforts.

Paul Jones, vice president of asset protection for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, said the increases are affecting stores in every part of the country.

Spikes in these types of crimes are expected during the holiday season, but this year the numbers are well above normal, Jones said.

In 25 years, Jones said he has never seen such an increase in shoplifting at the retail level.

He said the decision whether to prosecute is often made by retailers, and that some shoplifting crimes aren't reported.

Just because local statistics may be down doesn't meant the national trend is happening in the Frederick area, Jones said.

Barbara Staib is the director of communications for the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, an organization that provides education programs for convicted, first-time shoplifters.

Staib said she has seen a more than 20 percent increase in clients this year over the last.

And if her clients are those who get caught, prosecuted and wind up in court, there must be many more shoplifters out there, she said.

A combination of the faltering economy, the growing phenomenon of organized retail crime and a culture more permissive of greed has created a perfect storm of shoplifting, Staib said.

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