19 Arrested in St. Pete Holiday Shoplifting Sweep

Holiday “shoppers” with their hearts set on making it through the holidays without having to pay might discover the St. Petersburg Police Department has their number.

To prove that point, plain clothed detectives from the department spent Tuesday working with loss prevention officers at the 201 34th St. N. Walmart. During the one-day operation, they managed to land 19 arrests.

The effort was staged in hopes of cracking down on shoplifting. The criminal habit, police say, increases during the holidays.

Of those arrested, most now face retail theft charges, police say. Several people, however, also had outstanding warrants and one juvenile was found to be in violation of a court-ordered home detention for a prior burglary charge.

Ten of the arrestees were juveniles and nine were adults, police say.

While Tuesday’s operation focused on one Walmart store, police warn it’s not the last of the season.

“Operations of this type are being planned in the future at other retail establishment in the hopes of deterring shoplifting and other forms of theft at stores citywide,” an email to media stated.

Image via Shutterstock