I ventured to the 1st District at 24th and Wolf streets and interviewed the 1st District commanding officer, Capt. Kelly Robbins, about retail theft in South Philadelphia.
Speaking to Capt. Robbins in her office, she mentioned that she housed a Retail Theft Team that covered all of South Philly.
“The Retail Theft Team is two officers, not detectives, who focus directly on retail theft,” the 20-year-police veteran explained. “They do other stuff as well, but retail theft is their primary focus. They are more in tune than other officers to every retail theft job that is happening in South Division. They are also more in tune with offenders, prolific offenders specifically, so they track those people. They know who they are, they know where they live, and they know what their pattern of operation is.
“They go out and collect data that otherwise would sit for a while before detectives were able to get to it, because detectives are handling so many other jobs. For example, video is a big one. The retail theft team will go out as soon as a retail theft happens and they will collect as much video as they can, not only from the store, but from any cameras we have out on the public street that will help us identify the person, or identify where they are going with these goods, who they are selling these goods to,” Robbins said.
“So they try to get as much evidence as they can that detectives would otherwise struggle timewise with. And they try to tie the jobs together, so when it goes to detectives, we are not just talking about one retail theft, we’re talking about a job that has been put together for multiple retail thefts, prolific offenders, with evidence already included together in the package. It all goes to detectives so they can start out their investigation ahead of the curve.”
Robbins stated there is a great chance of going forward in prosecution, and for it to be successful in prosecution, if there are multiple jobs tied together.
“Retail theft is a big problem in South Philadelphia. Retail theft, theft from auto and package theft are our three biggest property crimes. We don’t have violent crime like other areas of the city, but it is frustrating for people to lose their property and lose it so frequently.
“We regularly do what we call ‘blitzes.’ They are organized by the retail theft team. They decide what stores they are going to hit and in what order they are going to hit them. They go in plain clothes, and they conduct a blitz operation in an attempt to catch people in the act of retail theft. We have been quite successful in that. During the last one we locked up at least three or four people in a few hours.”
Robbins said her team works often with their business partners. Her officers try to assist the store managers with a risk assessment on their property if they are asked to help or they see a significant pattern.
“We find out if there are any holes in their security, like lighting or if there is some way that makes it more likely for people to steal from them. We try to target harden their business. We develop relationships directly with the store managers to try and increase communications.
“We encourage all people, civilian or security, not to engage. You are there to be a good witness. You are there to see it, report it and make a statement for us. Unless you are being attacked, don’t engage.”
Robbins said that some shoplifters steal for consumption or because they are struggling with homelessness, mental issues or drug issues. Then there is a separate group that steals high-end items and resells them to turn a profit.
“For the last three years we’ve seen retail thefts inching upwards. So, in 2023, we reached 638, in 2024 we have 810, and then in 2025 with 831. This is the first year where we’re now starting to see that number come down, and I think it’s because of the retail theft team.” ••
Paul Davis’s Crime Beat column appears here each week. He can be reached via pauldavisoncrime.com.
