A loss prevention officer at Target in Pittsfield Township watches customers holiday shopping on Wednesday.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

Along with digital cameras and video games, Ann Arbor area retailers say Zhu Zhu pets are one of the hottest gift ideas this year.

And as with any hot item, the interactive toy pets are also coveted by shoplifters.

Recent statistics from Washtenaw County law enforcement agencies and retailers suggest shoplifting season isn't limited to the holidays as the recession continues. Police say retail fraud is up across the board over the last two years.

While a slight uptick occurs during the holiday season, especially at larger retailers, officials say the recession is driving up the numbers.

Shoplifting has become so prevalent in Pittsfield Township - home to many big-box stores - that officials there are looking to create their own local ordinance. And the township is planning to hold its first ever retail fraud conference late next month so representatives from area retailers can share information on the issue. A date has not yet been set for conference.

“Where we’ve seen the economy take a greater toll we’ve certainly heard from our retail members shoplifting cases are above or on par with where they were prior to the economy tanking,” said Joe LaRocca, a senior advisor for asset protection with the National Retail Federation.

The NRF, which represents 1.6 million retailers - including Walmart, Meijer, Sears and Starbucks - says its members lost roughly $34 billion to retail fraud in 2007. That number climbed to $36.8 billion in 2008. 

LaRocca said no solid numbers are available yet this year, but early polling indicates the numbers are steadily climbing.

Locally, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department reports retail fraud jumped 27 percent from the first 11 months of this year compared to the first 11 months of last year.

The Pittsfield Township Police Department reported retail fraud is up 9 percent from last year, and that number will increase once December’s figures are totaled.

Gordy Schick, the township's deputy director of police services, attributed part of the rise to new stores opening, but said the economy is also a factor. Pittsfield includes two Meijer stores, two Targets and the new Walmart.

More holiday shoppers means more shoplifters for large retail stores.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

"The numbers have certainly continued to rise, and we can take into account the economy and hardship that has taken place, not only at a state but at a national level," Schick said.

The township is considering its own local ordinance because officers are tied up with several hours of paperwork under the state's laws. Schick said the local ordinances would be modeled after state law, but not require so much paperwork.

"It's becoming more and more of a burden every time, and it's taking officers away from the road," he said. "This is one issue that is becoming more and more serious, and I think we're doing the proactive thing here."

With the rise in shoplifting, some noticeable changes in patterns, behaviors and methods are also being seen among thieves.

Retailers are hearing from shoplifters that their motivation is the economy, LaRocca said, and the same items that are hot during the holidays are targeted all year.

Thieves are stealing Zhu Zhu pets, digital cameras, video games and designer clothes in any season. Pittsfield Township reported more retail fraud in August, October and May than December.

“The rationalization comes up more and more that they are stealing because they feel strapped for cash or financial pressure, but, on the whole, you don’t need a $900 handbag,” LaRocca said. “It doesn’t necessarily fly with the retailers.”

LaRocca and representatives from Target and Walmart have also reported a significant rise in organized shoplifting.

LaRocca said it usually involves a group of several individuals who each play a specific role. One will distract clerks, others will keep an eye out for security guards or cameras, and others will fill a bag full of merchandise.

Although LaRocca is hesitant to reveal the methods organized shoplifters use to get past alarms, he said one common trick is to line shopping bags with aluminum foil - which blocks the alarm's signal from reaching the tags - and stuff them full of merchandise.

The groups are then selling the goods online at auction sites like eBay. At cheaper prices than the stores, LaRocca said the bargains are especially popular with the economy struggling, which fuels the fire.

“Organized shoplifting is different in that it typically involves a large-scale operation with sophisticated criminals who play different roles and who steal things with the intention of selling them - they aren’t shoplifting for themselves,” LaRocca said.

Schick said organized shoplifters are increasingly causing problems locally, and the new Walmart Supercenter has been hit especially hard.

"They move like gypsies until they feel like the heat is on them, and then they move on to the next location," Schick said.

Ann Arbor’s independent retailers report a different variety and much lower numbers of shoplifters. Although no solid statistics are available for only those stores, many of the owners say they've only seen a slight increase in shoplifting over the last two years.

Pam Blakely, a manager at Bivouac, said traditional shoplifting isn’t up, but they're seeing more "gray area shoplifting" where people try to say an item is on sale for 25 percent instead of 15 percent.

In other instances, people come in through one door, grab an item, then attempt to return it for store credit.

“There are quite a few different methods people use to try to rip off a store, and they don’t consider some of it stealing,” Blakely said.

The Get Up vintage owner Kelly McCleod expressed an opinion common among smaller retailers - stealing much more personal at a small shop. She said more strangers visit her store during the holidays, so more items go missing, but she largely trusts her customers throughout the year.

“We really get to know our customers and our regulars, and they want to see us succeed,” McCleod said. “So there’s so much trust in this store that stealing from me is like stealing from my wallet.”

Peter Cole, a manager at Sam’s clothing store in Ann Arbor, said he stays more vigilant during the holidays, but doesn't have a significant problem with shoplifters.

“I’ve been working here for 11 years, we see the same people and we’re not some faceless corporate entity,” Cole said. “If you steal from me, when you leave, you see my mom standing the counter. I mean, what, are you gonna steal some pants from a 60-year-old lady?”

The employee-to-customer ratio also works in the independent store’s favor.

McCleod used to keep a “wall of shame” at her old location, comprised of Polaroid photos of shoplifters. She said she and her employees generally give thieves a harder time than most other retailers before calling the police.

“We harass people,” she said. “I mean, you really want to be that jerk?”

Tom Perkins is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.