As retail theft continues to cause mass disruptions for shoppers and financial despair for business owners, cops from the 103rd Precinct say they are working to turn one Queens retail hub around.
Photo by Dean Moses
As retail theft continues to cause mass disruptions for shoppers and financial despair for business owners, officers from one Queens precinct are looking to turn things around on a major shopping hub.
Business owners along the bustling Jamaica Avenue strip in Jamaica tell amNewYork Metro that shoplifting has become a part of their daily routine — just another symptom of running a storefront in the Big Apple. For some, it’s more than just about losing merchandise; it’s a life-threatening fear.
“The whole dimension of business has changed. You come to work and have to worry about getting killed. Everyone threatens your life,” 57-year-old Larry Shrem said, who manages the Super V store located at 163-30 Jamaica Ave. “I have been doing this for 30 years and for the last two years I have been asking myself if I really want to do this anymore.”
According to Shrem, things have become so bad in his store that shoplifters simply walk inside, grab items off the shelves, and threaten violence if he tries to stop them. The brazen thieves seemingly care not about the store or its employees, or the potential legal repercussions.
In the wake of the shoplifting increase, a coalition of cops from the 103rd Precinct are striving to disrupt business as usual for retail thieves. Made up of several units stationed within the Jamaica Business Improvement District, Field Training Unit and Neighborhood Coordination Units, the special team makes steady patrols around the area, and steady arrests.
“There’s a lot of potential in this area for it to be booming like Manhattan,” Captain Nicholas Minor told amNewYork Metro. “Because of that, we have extra police officers there to try to make sure that crime is not out of hand and people feel safe. And…
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