
By Joy Bergmann
Shoplifting is rising on the Upper West Side, as is NYPD’s frustration with at least one retailer, Target at 795 Columbus Avenue [98th Street].
“One-third of our petit larcenies are coming from that Target,” Deputy Inspector Naoki Yaguchi told a packed house at Wednesday evening’s 24th Precinct Community Council meeting held at Bloomingdale Library.
During the January 1st through March 13th period, the 24th recorded 369 total petit larcenies vs.178 in 2021, an increase of 107 percent, according to NYPD CompStat data. Going by Yaguchi’s math, an estimated 123 incidents were from the Target. [Petit larceny is a misdemeanor offense for theft of goods valued at under $1000; grand larceny is a felony offense for stealing items worth over $1000.]
“We are having a really serious problem with Target shoplifting. They don’t call us when it happens. They call us hours after the incident, sometimes days after the incident. It doesn’t give us a chance to try and catch the person who did it,” said Yaguchi. “In 17 years on the job, I’ve never encountered a situation where the company essentially refuses to call us. But they’re okay with calling us days later to make a report that satisfies some insurance requirements that they have.”
A local shared her experience. “I saw a shoplifter at Target filling up his bag with frozen seafood products and just walking out.” When she alerted the manager on duty, “The attitude was, ‘we have insurance; we don’t need to worry about this right now.’”
Officer Kite added, “Target’s corporate policy is they cannot call to get someone arrested until that individual has been seen stealing three consecutive times.”
Yaguchi indicated the situation may be attracting people with a propensity to commit crimes to the area. “They make calculations just like us. They know the cops aren’t coming because Target’s not calling. That, I’m sure, gets around.”
Yaguchi said he’d like to see the community put pressure on the store to change their ways. “Boycott!” exclaimed another local woman.
When called by WSR, a store manager said she could not comment on any policies, referring us to Target’s corporate team.
“All of our policies and procedures are entirely rooted in safety,” Brian Harper-Tibaldo, a Target spokesperson, told WSR. While the company does not publicly share its specific theft occurrence protocols, stores do have sophisticated security measures in place and Target works with police to apprehend offenders, he said. “Our teams contact local law enforcement whenever a guest or team member’s safety is in question or if a situation is disrupting our business.”
Target is particularly focused on stopping “organized retail crime” committed by teams of “clear the shelf” thieves, gathering video evidence of repeat offenders to help police build cases for arrests and convictions, added Harper-Tibaldo.

Among other items discussed:
Sherry Goldstein from the Fortune Society gave a brief overview of the nonprofit’s supportive and affordable housing program planned for 258 W. 97th Street. For a comprehensive look at the initiative, check out this YouTube video of Fortune’s presentation at the Upper West Side Coalition’s recent housing forum.
Catalytic converter theft remains a stubborn problem in the 2-4, especially for Honda models. Crime Prevention Officer Frankel urged drivers to consider installing catalytic converter covers on their vehicles as a deterrent; alternatively, painting the units with bright orange, heat-resistant paint may also deter thieves as it reduces their ability to sell the stolen goods. More tips here.
Phone scams by people claiming to be from Con Ed seeking payment via gift cards for “overdue bills” continue to ensnare UWS victims, said Frankel. Hang up on anyone asking for payments in gift cards, crypto currency, money orders or wire transfers, says NYPD. Learn more here.
Package thieves often repeatedly target the same residential buildings. If goods get swiped, NYPD encourages victims to file a report so officers can better detect patterns and conduct surveillance. In one of several success stories shared Wednesday, Officer Blease noted how a building worked with the 24th to post pictures of a suspect in its lobby, leading to an arrest.
Finally, some WSR readers have expressed a desire for the return of “beat” cops. They still exist, in an updated form.
As Yaguchi explained, each NYPD precinct has dedicated Neighborhood Coordination Officers called NCOs who focus their efforts on specific geographies in the precinct and lead smaller community meetings to address that area’s concerns. “Steady sector” officers like Officers Kite and Blease support that work by intensively patrolling their assigned areas. “They are here to solve problems,” said Yaguchi.
24th Precinct residents can connect with their NCOs by first noting whether your address is in Sector A, B or C, per the map below. Then, email your designated officers, per the list below. Follow the 24th Precinct on Twitter to stay apprised of upcoming NCO meetings and local crime concerns.
The next 24th Precinct Community Council meeting will be held Wednesday, April 20th, at 7:00 p.m. at Bloomingdale Library 150 W. 100th Street.


Perhaps, if Target themselves don’t care particularly about stopping theft, the police should also just ignore them and put their forces elsewhere. There are many other better uses of officers time than to park them in the Target lobby all day.
If it takes Target three days to call the police after an incident, I have no problem with it taking the police three days, or more, or a lot more, making their report so Target can make an insurance claim. IMO Target’s policy is essentially insurance fraud.
It’s likely that shoplifting theft at these levels is covered by Target’s internal financing. In other words, “self insured”.
I don’t think anyone feels that calling the police is particularly useful.
Cars are blowing lights at 72, 86, and 96 & Broadway literally every 3 minutes, with 100s of pedestrians trying to cross.
Noise control has been totally lost. Cars, dirt bikes, and motorcycles cruise at 4am full throttle. Horns blow far more than back in the 90s.
Shoplifting is everything, not just at Target. C’mon. We all see this as lived experience.
And violent crime is up. Cell phones collect and share far more than data that evidences tampering, or looking the other way.
Citizens can’t defend themselves, either.
Actually, they will, once the Supreme Court rules in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen. Then we can all carry guns and return the city to the good old days when none of these things were problems. What year was that again?
You intend to carry a gun to rid the city of traffic violations, noise violations and shoplifting?
I admire you. The guys in Rikers will, too.
Sorry you missed the point of my post. But I’m still searching for that year when we didn’t have these problems.
Look for it in the future. But it won’t happen by extremism – in either gun proliferation or the current complete abdication of rule/law enforcement. Just real, practical law making and strict enforcement.
Put plainclothes officers in these trouble stores. Arrest shoplifters. And this last one is key: put them in jail. Disgusting to see this neighborhood allow itself to decline. Repeat after me: “You get what you vote for!”
I dont know if you are up to date on the news, but “plain clothes” officers are no longer a thing. Did you see the new anti gun units new uniforms? That unit used to be plain clothes (easier to blend in and get guns) but no longer…
While I resent Target’s supposed attitude toward this problem and believe that shoplifting, like all supposed “victimless” crimes, should be prosecuted fully, I’m not quite ready to commit my tax dollars to staffing private companies with NYC police officers.
I hear you, but I’d much rather my tax dollars go towards arresting and jailing thieves than that exorbitantly priced boat basin restoration. Rent-a-cops are a laughable deterrent. We need the real thing until there’s a large reduction in these incidents. Most pressingly though, we need a new DA who believes in justice.
helicopter chop is a crime too
Perhaps because politicians like AOC have (falsely) called shoplifting “crimes of poverty”, and Target doesn’t want mobs of woke protesters picketing their stores for calling the cops.
Lol Wendy – Didn’t AOC also blame anti-Asian hate on white supremacy? There are those who will have us believe people are contumacious because they are ” hurting “, disenfranchised” and “marginalized ” not because they justify their horrible uncivil behavior with the ” woke-ster” mantras of the ” white patriarchy”,etc.” All you so called progressives – get out of la-la land. Having compassion is one thing; people need support, programs, etc., but no one needs “idiot” compassion.
Your sure that all shop lifting isn’t a crime of poverty how?
Have you seen the food banks distribute? 1/3 of it is garbage.
Inspector Yaguchi- Blames Target for being a “target” for repeated theft.
President Biden- Blame Russia for Gas prices hikes.
Where is the adult in the room?
No, Yagucki blames Target for not calling the cops when the incident is occurring.
EPIC EYEROLL at Yaguchi re Target, and generally. Great ploy to prop up a corporate bogeyman because he’s either unable or unwilling to address the more thorny issues facing the neighborhood.
(1) Many retailers have what are called “no chase” policies. It’s for the safety of staff, and, as the recent stabbing at MOMA ought to demonstrate, it’s for good reason.
(2) Some retailers also have “don’t call” policies. Very few commenters understand the reality of working in retail in a big box store. The priority is the customer and stock: check-out, assisting customers, stocking.
(3) It’s absolutely right for retailers to be focusing on organized crime–the smash and grab type incidents we’ve seen not only on the UWS, but all over Manhattan. That’s a police matter, and that’s serious theft.
(4) Maybe instead of trying to get the neighborhood riled up about Target, Yaguchi should write some traffic tickets.
NYPD can’t secure Target. Only Target can do that. And they refuse.
Still, it’s pretty lame for the NYPD to pass the buck like this. No wonder no one supports them anymore.
No one?
If Target refuses to report these crimes, it’s not just Target that suffers, if at all, it’s the neighborhoods and the people who live here. When criminals get the message that crime does pay they will come. Crimes will escalate and we all become less safe.
Target will just shutdown and move to another location. They don’t have the stomach or balls to address the shoplifting problem
Sue Target and any other store that allows shoplifting for creating a lawless and dangerous environment. These stores are creating the crime wave by letting people take their merchandise with no effort to secure their store. Shut them down.
How did we become so lawless and the laws never enforced?
Calling the police when it’s happening or the store stopping the people is a deterrent from future shoplifting behavior.
As a 16-year-old in 2000, my teen was arrested with her friend. Also, 16 yrs old both were taken to a police station on canal st and put in a cell. They robbed about $25. worth of makeup from Sephora in Soho. Yes Stupid behavior. I was
Furious. She had the money to pay.
However, Sephora called the police, and they were locked up in a cell; we had to pick her up. Then had to go to court, and she was punished with community service.
She’s lucky she didn’t get a record, and you know my kid never robbed a thing again.
When I was a teen in the 1970s, I also tried to shoplift something from Bloomingdale’s got caught, and luckily they didn’t call my parents or the police.
It scared me straight as a teen
Honestly, if Target wants to run a not-for-profit business by letting people voluntarily decide whether to pay for goods or not, that is their prerogative.
To me it sounds like Mr. Yaguchi is only concerned about the numbers making him and his precinct look bad.
Talk about misplaced blame. How about focusing where you CAN make a difference?
There are no more calls to “Defund the Police” and we have a former NYPD officer as our current Mayor so what’s the excuse for the work slowdown and the moping around now?!? just curious.
By the way, the NYPD budget is larger than the entire military budget of Ukraine.
It’s not just Target. I was in Duane Reade at 72nd a few weeks ago and a guy walked in, grabbed two crates of beer and walked out again. He was presumably known by staff as the security guy followed him through the store but made no effort to stop him or retrieve the beers. It was just accepted. Staff on the checkouts didn’t bat an eyelid.
So… Target is free now? 😂 so nice of their insurance company to subsidize us all!
frankly I’m beginning to think I’m the damn fool in this city for paying my subway fare – and now paying in Target et al. Now I know I can hop the turnstile and walk out with my shampoo – I might give it a go. However something tells me I don’t look threatening enough to deter arrest.
This is the phenomena happening everywhere in many shops and franchises around the city. Company like Target only cares one thing, profits. The loss will be offsetted by low paying inexperience hourly call based part-timer and low/no benefit.
One more great reason to avoid shopping at big box stores.
They’ve long been undermining mom-and-pop shops, homogenizing America and gutting U.S. manufacturing by almost exclusively selling cheap Chinese merchandise. Now they’re practically encouraging rampant larceny and turning neighborhoods into havens for thieves, and the costs are undoubtedly being passed along to consumers.
Shop small, shop local, help revive your city and country.
Good idea in theory but shopping small & local doesn’t stop crime. I’ve witnessed incidents in 3 shops on 72nd (the stretch from WEA to Columbus) just this month. The latest scam was a ‘customer’ ordering a sandwich and then stealing items off the shelves while waiting for the order. Then he offered the cashier a shredded $10 bill which she refused, and he became confrontational when no one on line would pay for his sandwich. Small shop, one door, and he was standing in front of it. Not a great experience for the cashier or the customers. 🙁
Not much the NYPD can do if you don’t report the crime promptly.
Same goes with any incident against the general public – report it if somebody assaults or threatens you – even if it is just to 311. If there is no official record of the incident it never happened and there is no reason for any government agency to look into the issue.
These crimes aren’t prosecuted. Did any of you vote in the DA election? If they are arrested they are releases immediately. This isn’t Targets fault. Its the DA, city council and state legislature.
I’m certainly not against mandated mask-wearng in the Covid era, but maybe there’d be less shoplifting if identity-hiding weren’t the obvious result. Transparent masks a possibility?