Retail crime, including organized theft, is on the rise across the region, police say. Now, officers and store representatives are teaming up to combat such crimes more effectively.

In the 1990s, Groton Town Det. Don Rankin said, shoplifting was a massive problem for retailers. With the rise of the internet, credit card theft spiked. Now, Rankin said, in-person theft appears to be creeping back up, and chip credit cards might be to blame.

The jury is out on how effective the implementation of chips, which are harder to clone, has been. According to The Wall Street Journal, there were more cases of identity fraud in 2016 than the previous 13 years. Many of those cases originated online or at stores not yet using chip-enabled machines.

But Rankin said his department has dealt with only one notable credit card fraud case in the past year or so, while people walking out of stores with merchandise “happens every day.”

The theft is costly not only directly — the National Retail Federation’s annual survey repeatedly has put the cost of organized retail crime alone at about $30 billion per year — but also indirectly in lost tax revenue and increased prices.

The first meeting of the new task force, which doesn't yet have a name, at the Groton Town Police Department on Thursday featured members of the Groton Town, Waterford and Clinton police departments. Managers or loss-prevention officials from Yankee Peddler and Pawn, CVS, Henny Penny, Big Y and Ocean State Job Lot also attended.

Some retail-sector employees shared open cases they hoped to get help with. Others asked questions of police, like whether store clerks should accept bills they know are counterfeit for the sake of helping with prosecution down the road.

In an ideal world, said Lt. Nick Parham of Groton Town police, stores would keep the fake bills and call cops immediately. But he knows that’s not realistic; to accept a counterfeit is to take an automatic loss.

Clinton police Cpl. Craig Lee presented a roundup of thefts from stores at the Clinton Mall so far this year: $1,700 from CVS here, $700 from Calvin Klein there. The list went on.

Before signing off, the attendees pledged to more frequently use a messaging app called Ryver, which allows them to share information about trends and suspects in real time. They also picked a date in June for the next quarterly meeting.

The region attempted such a task force in the past, Rankin said, but it fizzled out. He’s hoping this time technology, as well as the growing need for the force, will help keep it going.

“Sometimes getting to that next step and making that happen, it’s change, so it’s not always easy,” Parham said. “But once we get there, people will see it is easier than picking up the cellphone and calling.”

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Theft from stores is complex. Some steal small amounts without much regard for averting cameras, often to fuel drug habits. Some bring in bags lined with duct tape to thwart stores' security systems. Some steal items from one place with the intent of returning them for a refund at another. Some are given stacks of fraudulently obtained gift cards and told if they use them to get X and Y from various shops, they’ll get a cut.

Others, however, take part in complex organized retail crime rings.

Connecticut recognizes organized retail theft as shoplifting on a large scale, involving multiple persons and thefts of items with a collective value upward of $2,000, as well as the sale or transfer of such stolen items.

Thieves show up in small groups, sizing up a store and how many employees are working before going in. One will stay in the car, keeping an eye on the parking lot and an ear on a police scanner app on his or her phone. Another one or two will act as distractors and lookouts while yet another does the stealing, generally with instructions from a ringleader about what to get. Sometimes the lookouts will hang back to take the heat if it comes, and the actual thief will be long gone.

Recently, Waterford cops pulled one officer off patrol and stationed him in plain clothes near the Victoria’s Secret in the Crystal Mall. They’d gotten a tip that 26-year-old Mario Antelo, a man for whom they held an arrest warrant, was en route.

Sure enough, the officer spotted Providence resident Antelo and another man about 4:35 p.m. on March 30. According to an arrest report, the men saw the officer reach for his radio, which he used to call for backup. They took off, dropping the modified black bags they were carrying as they fled.

A chase through the mall ensued. It ended for Eric Pacheco, 23, of Cranston, R.I., in the parking lot, as he ran toward a red Dodge Charger.

Antelo’s pursuit stopped just outside the Christmas Tree Shops. Police said Antelo paused when he saw an officer in front of him, which allowed the officer behind him to catch up.

“We’re very organized,” Waterford Lt. Steve Bellos said, describing how those involved in undercover operations meet beforehand to talk strategy. “We get a little lucky sometimes, too.”

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Antelo is suspected of played a role in stealing more than $13,000 worth of products from the Waterford store since January, and is a suspect in similar thefts in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In total, a Braintree, Mass., detective estimated, Antelo allegedly has had a hand in stealing about $50,000 in merchandise. 

Both men are facing multiple charges.

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What’s popular for thieves changes over time. Sometimes, perpetrators stop hitting stores because the retailers improved security. Other times they change their habits based on what items are in demand.

Right now, Bellos and Waterford Lt. Timothy Silva said, DSW, Ulta and clothing stores including H&M and Express are getting hit hard. Merchandise lifted from those places often ends up in flea markets, on sites such as eBay or Craigslist and even on Facebook Marketplace.

Other frequently stolen items include Red Bull, baby formula and Rogaine. They’re usually sold to shady mom-and-pop shops for a slice of the suggested retail price — a win for the thieves and the shop owners.

And while it’s clear Bellos, Silva and detectives across the state and country have a grasp of what’s going on, prosecution isn’t easy. In flea markets, sellers may not know their items were stolen. On Craigslist and the like, many people are selling things they came across legitimately.

“It’s just hard,” Silva said. “You’ve got to be able to prove that origination.”

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There are dozens of other issues when it comes to prosecuting retail theft. Some stores don’t call police soon enough, or fail to capture video of a suspect. Others have policies in place that require a manager to have observed a theft in order to press charges.

That many thieves hail from one state but steal in several others poses problems, too.

But Bellos said police use of Facebook is helping solve more crimes more quickly than ever. Sometimes, after police post surveillance photos and a description of the alleged crime, neighbors of the suspects will call up and offer to provide pictures of license plates and anything else that could help, Bellos said.

"It is amazing how many people dime each other out on that," Bellos said.

Apps like Ryver show great promise, too, Rankin said — if everyone gets on board.

“What it boils down to is can we communicate with these guys?” Rankin said. “Can everybody have an idea who’s out there doing what and get that information out as quick as possible?”

l.boyle@theday.com