Retail thefts hit four-year high in Georgetown

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. 

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. 

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. 

“Thefts are a recurring problem that we are looking for different ways to address, especially when it comes to our retail corridor,” he said, “There’s a lot of work to be done.”

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 The Wash anonymously. She said their store has seen an increase in thefts, so the police check in multiple times a day, “There’s a lot of police presence, so we feel really safe here.”

“It’s the location, everywhere on M Street always sees a lot of thefts,” she said, but she couldn’t think how to improve the situation.  “All the retailers here, they’re not going to prosecute, so there’s nothing left we can do,” she said.

Emma, a visual team leader at Patagonia who declined to share her last name, said retail thefts there seem pretty consistent. “I wouldn’t say it’s completely out of hand; for retail, it’s just something you work with.”

Smaller independent businesses are taking matters into their own hands. Potomac Wine and Spirits owner Josh Feldman said, “Patagonia, right next door to us, seems to have theft almost on a daily basis. But in here, it’s a little different, we’re partrolled by our family and we don’t really allow for stuff like that to happen.” 

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, “so it’s not easy access to the building,” Feldman said. 

“Some of these corporate stores, they have policies that they’re not supposed to go after anyone that steals product from them, even the security guards aren’t allowed to do that,” he said. “So the people that are stealing, they know that, and it makes it a lot easier. So I think that’s why you’re seeing a rise in theft.”

Morgan’s 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 The Wash that the alarm system scared them off, and the police arrived within 40 seconds. 

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

Community safety efforts 

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. 

She’s 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, “It just seems bizarre to most Americans, and certainly most people who live in places like Georgetown.” 

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.

“They know that somebody’s telling them if there’s something to be concerned about,” said Darling. “So 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.”

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, “A ‘we’ feeling,” she said.

The police Darling says like the scheme, “They feel like we do something.” She acknowledges, “We are the part of the city that they’re really, really, really, really good to.” 

As a social scientist, Darling says she won’t say the scheme makes Georgetown safer as there would be no way to do that research. “Do I think it’s worth my time would be one question. The answer is yes,” she said.