Tukwila PD recovers several thousand dollars’ worth of stolen items, jabs at organized retail theft

(Tukwila Police Department)

Police recovered several thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise from multiple organized retail theft suspects on Monday. In addition, the Tukwila Police Department (TPD) released a list of common signs their officers look for to spot these suspects.

According to a Facebook post from the TPD, a single officer recovered all the stolen items simply by being at the right places at the right time.

Tukwila Police Department

Authorities say in one instance, a woman loaded all the merchandise (seen above) onto a counter and then into her shopping cart. As she made her way to the exit doors, she laughed at the employees trying to stop her and said, "I’m going to push this cart right out those doors, and you’re not going to stop me or do anything about it." The TPD says an employee pointed at the officer walking toward the doors and said, "no, but he is." Authorities say the laughing stopped, and she bolted out of the store - leaving her selected items behind.

RELATED: VIDEO: 5 charged in Bellevue organized retail theft ring, totaling more than $100,000

Tukwila Police Department

In another situation, the officer heard a security alarm go off and saw two men with bags of stolen clothes laughing at an employee as they left the building. Authorities say the officer stopped them immediately and recovered all of the merchandise. 

According to the TPD, Washington state retailers lost around $2.7 billion dollars to organized retail crime. Across the nation, that number rises to $70 billion dollars. Authorities say the majority of the shoplifters in the Tukwila area are not stealing out of necessity, but for profit.

RELATED: Newly-formed statewide task force takes aim at organized retail theft in Washington

HOW TO SPOT ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT

The Tukwila Police Department listed off a couple tongue-in-cheek commonalities that officers look for when spotting organized retail theft suspects:

THE GROUP APPROACH

The TPD says an indicator of organized retail crime is when a large group of people carrying empty bags walks into a store and immediately splits up into smaller groups, fanning out throughout the store.

THE ‘ANYTHING GOES’

Authorities say a shopper turns into a suspect when they throw clothing items into their cart without checking the sizes. Police say they often see criminals use this strategy to steal brand names like Levi’s, The North Face, Columbia and Nike.

THE PARANOID

The TPD says they often see these suspects spending several hours inside a store, trying to blend in while concealing numerous items. Officers say these suspects may serve as a scout for a larger group, spending their time observing how attentive employees and officers are in the store. If they are working in a group, they will often cause a scene or a distraction for the rest of the group to come in and steal more items.

THE LOOKOUT

The TPD describes this type of suspect as a person who loiters outside the main doors, while another suspect enters inside to collect items to steal.

THE TANTRUM

Police say throwing a tantrum is a common tactic used by theft suspects when they are caught red-handed. The suspect’s overall hope is that the store would rather let them walk out of the store with the stolen merchandise, instead of having them scare other customers away.

THE DOUBLE DOWNER

The TPD describes this type of suspect as someone who pretends to have forgotten their method of payment at home, after an officer makes their presence known to the suspect.