Throughout August, the sheriff’s office in Sarasota County monitored the area’s retail corridors to crack down on shoplifters. In all, 51 people were arrested and 103 charges were filed.
“Retail theft increases the cost of doing business for stores, which also affects us as consumers,” said Sheriff Tom Knight. “Based on crime analysis, we can look at hotspots and deploy resources during these maintenance-type initiatives. Our hope is by saturating heavily populated retail areas, we are sending a strong message that criminal behavior is not welcome or tolerated in this community.” One of the arrests involved a… My Sun Coast