Cedar Rapids Police Chief predicts shoplifting calls will increase from 2022

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - The Cedar Rapids Police Department said it responded to a 35% increase in shoplifting calls between 2021 and 2022.

New data released Wednesday showed police received 1,053 shoplifting calls last year; in 2021, they responded to 777. CRPD Chief Wayne Jerman said he predicted the number would continue to climb.

“We only had an incident 2 years ago when we first opened,” said Rick Noggle, the owner of “20 Years Awesome.

Jerman believed some of the increase might be attributed to inflation.

“I’d forecast that we may see an increase higher than we saw in 2022,” said Jerman.

The National Retail Federation called retail theft a $100 billion problem last year. Jerman said business owners like Noggle need to tighten up their security, remove high-value items from accessible places, and the department would continue to spread its message.

“During high-volume shopping times and days, we’ll continue to increase our visibility,” he said.

It’s that game plan that Noggle said helped him when someone shoplifted from his shop.

“I had video of him taking it,” said Noggle. “I called the cops, and the people happened to be on foot. They were walking around downtown, and they apprehended them. They brought them in and brought me my things.”

2022 wasn’t the highest number of shoplifting calls in the last five years. In 2017, police responded to 1,128 shoplifting calls.

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