In recent public presentations to city leaders, Overland Park police officials have called shoplifting and retail crimes a “crisis.” The statement, made by Interim Police Chief Simon Happer during the Jan. 10 Overland Park City Council Public Safety Committee, followed two relatively high-profile incidents involving shoplifting that seriously endangered bystanders. “It’s been a big crisis,” Interim Chief Happer said. But a review of data the Post obtained through public records requests tells something of a different story. Those figures suggest that, in fact, the prevalence of reported retail thefts and arrests are not increasing but staying broadly static over the past decade. That being said, department officials say they aren’t so worried about run-of-the-mill shoplifting but what they call organized retail theft. Happer said the department and the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office are working together to “put an end to this crisis of these thefts.” “It’s run and grabs,” he said. “They walk in, they grab as much as they can, they walk out.” A review of data the Post obtained through public records requests suggests — despite a few headline-grabbing incidents — combined reports and arrests stemming from shoplifting and retail theft remain below their pre-pandemic peaks.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
