最新蜜桃影像

Retail thefts have spiked in Georgetown along the M St Corridor; independent businesses are improving their security, but staff of big chain stores appear resigned to the problem.聽

Captain Darren Haskis told the Nov. 4 ANC 2E meeting in Georgetown that although all other crimes are down in the year-to-date and 30-day time-period statistics, thefts are on the rise.聽

There were 56 thefts in October, largely from businesses on M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, such as CVS, Lululemon, and Alo. This is a 27% increase from the same period last year.聽

鈥淭hefts are a recurring problem that we are looking for different ways to address, especially when it comes to our retail corridor,鈥� he said, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of work to be done.鈥�

A staff member at one of the large chain stores on M Street said it was against corporate policy to speak to media, so she spoke to 最新蜜桃影像 anonymously. She said their store has seen an increase in thefts, so the police check in multiple times a day, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of police presence, so we feel really safe here.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 the location, everywhere on M Street always sees a lot of thefts,鈥� she said, but she couldn鈥檛 think how to improve the situation.聽 鈥淎ll the retailers here, they鈥檙e not going to prosecute, so there鈥檚 nothing left we can do,鈥� she said.

Emma, a visual team leader at Patagonia who declined to share her last name, said retail thefts there seem pretty consistent. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say it鈥檚 completely out of hand; for retail, it鈥檚 just something you work with.鈥�

Smaller independent businesses are taking matters into their own hands. Potomac Wine and Spirits owner Josh Feldman said, 鈥淧atagonia, right next door to us, seems to have theft almost on a daily basis. But in here, it鈥檚 a little different, we鈥檙e partrolled by our family and we don鈥檛 really allow for stuff like that to happen.鈥澛�

In addition to the family patrol, the store closes earlier to prevent crime, shutting at 8 p.m. on the weekends. It also has gated windows and a front gate, 鈥渟o it鈥檚 not easy access to the building,鈥� Feldman said.聽

鈥淪ome of these corporate stores, they have policies that they鈥檙e not supposed to go after anyone that steals product from them, even the security guards aren鈥檛 allowed to do that,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o the people that are stealing, they know that, and it makes it a lot easier. So I think that鈥檚 why you鈥檙e seeing a rise in theft.鈥�

Morgan鈥檚 Pharmacy, which has been in Georgetown for over 100 years, was the target of a theft attempt in September. Five people tried to break into the store at midnight, but the pharmacist, Noorhan Alkhalich, told 最新蜜桃影像 that the alarm system scared them off, and the police arrived within 40 seconds.聽

Alkhalich said they had improved their security system with more cameras, and she was not scared working in the store.聽

Community safety efforts聽

The Georgetown community has worked to address crime for years through their community of block captains. Over 85% of blocks in Georgetown have a block captain who volunteers to pass on crime and public safety information.

Helen Darling, block captain of the year, has been periodically keeping her block aware of nearby safety issues for more than ten years.聽

She鈥檚 noticed changes in Georgetown over the years. That you now have to get a clerk to unlock a section in order to buy lipstick, she said, 鈥淚t just seems bizarre to most Americans, and certainly most people who live in places like Georgetown.鈥澛�

Darling describes her role as modest. She often emails her neighbors to inform them of nearby crime or remind them to keep porch lights on. Recently, she received a call from a neighbor whose jewelry had been stolen while her house was being renovated. She wrote a report and sent it to her block.

鈥淭hey know that somebody’s telling them if there’s something to be concerned about,鈥� said Darling. 鈥淪o if they’re not hearing anything, then they don’t need to be concerned, and that actually is very reassuring when you live in a city.鈥�

While the block captain scheme is currently only in Georgetown, Darling thinks it would work well anywhere there is a sense of community with a low turnover of residents, 鈥淎 鈥榳e鈥� feeling,鈥� she said.

The police Darling says like the scheme, 鈥淭hey feel like we do something.鈥� She acknowledges, 鈥淲e are the part of the city that they鈥檙e really, really, really, really good to.鈥澛�

As a social scientist, Darling says she won鈥檛 say the scheme makes Georgetown safer as there would be no way to do that research. 鈥淒o I think it’s worth my time would be one question. The answer is yes,鈥� she said.