Retail Crime on the Rise, Is Eastern Oregon Impacted?
By Joe Hathaway on Friday, October 6th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
NORTHEAST OREGON — As incidents of retail crime continue to escalate throughout the country, retailers have seen a dramatic jump in financial losses associated with theft. When taken as a percentage of total retail sales in 2022, shrink accounted for $112.1 billion in losses, up from $93.9 billion in 2021, according to the 2023 National Retail Security Survey released today by the National Retail Federation.
“Retailers are seeing unprecedented levels of theft coupled with rampant crime in their stores, and the situation is only becoming more dire,” said NRF Vice President for Asset Protection and Retail Operations David Johnston “Far beyond the financial impact of these crimes, the violence and concerns over safety continue to be the priority for all retailers, regardless of size or category.”
So, has Eastern Oregon seen any impact of this disturbing trend?
Not as dramatically as the rest of the nation.
According to both the Baker and Union counties chamber of commerce, neither organization has been made aware of a rise in thefts from its members.
While the chamber’s members are typically small, local businesses, law enforcement says reports of thefts have been on the rise on larger brand stores, such as Walmart and Safeway.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office (UCSO) reports that “the vast majority (high 90 percentile) are shoplifting calls from Walmart.”
This year the UCSO has received 49 calls of shoplifting for the county, with 26 of those calls generating case numbers. Stores have to press charges to generate case numbers.
2022 had 94 reports of shoplifting with 49 cases generated, while 2021 had 50 reports, with 23 cases.
The UCSO says it expects to be on track in 2023 with 2022 numbers.
Elkhorn Media Group has also fielded questions about the Walmart in Island City now having staff check receipts at the store’s exit. Elkhorn Media Group has reached out to Walmart to see if this is a sign of a rise in thefts. In a statement, Walmart said, “While retail theft is a real problem across our industry, we’re always looking for ways to protect our associates, customers and merchandise.”
In Baker City, police say they have a constant inflow of retail theft and take a high volume of theft calls throughout the retail community here. According to the Baker City Police Department, a majority of shoplifting calls are from Ace Hardware, Albertsons and Safeway.
