The crackdown on shoplifting is working at Destiny USA: Property crimes at the Syracuse mall have dropped significantly since the property crimes unit began operating there six months ago.
Syracuse Police Deputy Chief Mark Russin said the property crime statistics show early success for the task force, which began operating in November.
“In November 2023, 145 property crimes were reported,” Russin said. “Since then, reports have decreased by approximately 50%. There have been 283 arrests, 72 of which were charged with felonies.”
The task force has been sending additional patrol officers, some hired by Destiny and some funded by the police, on foot and by bicycle around the mall. It has also been holding joint meetings with the stores and working closely with the district attorney’s office and the probation department. Statistics show that 126 cases involving 21 people have led to the involvement of the district attorney’s office.
Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick said his office’s new program, “STOP,” targets repeat offenders by sending cases to trial after four arrests. The program also provides new tools to prosecute repeat offenders for felonies. Fitzpatrick noted that a repeat shoplifter was recently convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
“These are not minor crimes,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re not prosecuting a 17-year-old single mother who stole diapers and formula for her child. We’re prosecuting repeat organized criminals.”
Steve Congel, CEO of Pyramid Management, which operates the mall, said his company’s investment in the effort is expensive but that it will continue to provide some funding.
“These positive results reinforce our commitment to continue investing in additional programs and partnerships to sustain this level of results,” Congel said.
Russin also noted that shoplifting isn’t just an issue at the mall, and other parts of the city are benefiting from a focus on ways to stop it.
“We started working with Rite Aid on Butternut Street because that’s where people walk to go to the store,” Russin said. “If that store were to close, it would be a really big problem for the people who live around Butternut Street. The information we get there informs the work we do here, and vice versa, because this isn’t just about Destiny or the mall; it’s a much broader problem.”
