Why Port St. Lucie police are increasing patrols at three Walmarts

WPTV is learning of a worrying increase in shoplifting on the Treasure Coast. Police in Port St. Lucie have released new numbers that show shoppers are using the self-checkout lane to avoid paying for products.

Both in Florida and across the country, major department stores like Walmart and Target have reported a sharp increase in shoplifting, which many refer to as “skipping the scan” at self-checkout lanes.

“People scan some things and miss others,” said Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Torro. “I don’t think you can take a loss if you steal from someone.”

The Port St. Lucie Crime Analysis Division investigated the three Walmarts in Port St. Lucie: US 1, Southwest Gatlin Boulevard and Northwest St. Lucie West Boulevard.

They compared the store’s theft numbers from June 2022 to May 2023 with those from June 2023 to May 2024. Overall, the numbers show a 97% increase in shoplifting, with the Northwest St. Lucie West Boulevard location seeing the largest increase at 524%.

This situation has prompted retailers and local law enforcement to step in in a new partnership to reduce thefts. Del Torro said this will come in the form of more officers patrolling in and around stores during times when thefts are more common.

“We’re here to protect not only our people, but our businesses and the people who visit those businesses,” Del Torro said. “We solve about 87% of the crimes that are reported to us, so we have a very high clearance rate. Often that’s because there’s good video. We’re relentless in our pursuit of investigations.”

This situation is being seen across the country and has caused some retailers to rethink their attitude toward self-checkout. Dollar General has eliminated self-checkout systems in about 12,000 stores and Five Below announced it would eliminate these registers in its higher-risk stores, all because of theft.

While retailers barricade themselves and search for a solution, many shoppers said they would not return to the old-fashioned checkout system unless they absolutely have to.

“I use (self-checkouts) every time because I don’t like the way other people bag my groceries,” said shopper Denise Syryt. “I’m not stupid. I know people steal. I see it every day. If they take it from me, I’ll deal with it.”

Other buyers, like Tanner Tassl, said a few bad apples shouldn’t spoil the whole basket.

“People are people. Of course there are bad people in the world,” said Tassl. “It would be a nuisance because the queues would be longer.”

Del Torro told WPTV that there will be regular discussions between retailers and law enforcement to implement additional safety precautions to protect products, customers and employees.

Scripps Content Only 2024