Crimes in progress thwarted, some suspects linked to prior thefts
On February 5 and 6, law enforcement agencies from Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland Counties, along with state and federal partners, came together for a two-day Organized Retail Theft Enforcement Detail aimed at addressing this growing regional issue.
The operation was coordinated and managed by the Real Time Crime (RTC) Center, which supported 27 participating agencies through intelligence sharing and real-time communication across jurisdictions.
Twenty-six suspects were arrested recently during a tri-county crackdown on organized retail theft crews operating in Westchester and the southern Hudson Valley.
Multiple departments in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam participated in the initiative, which targeted retail theft crews that were committing larcenies across municipal and county lines in the region. The enforcement initiative was coordinated by the Real Time Crime (RTC) intelligence center based at Westchester County Police headquarters.
The operation leveraged intelligence information and inter-agency coordination to identify and apprehend subjects involved in organized theft activity at major retail stores, including Kohls, Marshalls, Nordstrom and Target.
The detail resulted in 26 total arrests across multiple jurisdictions and led to the identification of additional suspects connected to prior incidents.
Public Safety Commissioner Terrance Raynor said, “This operation demonstrated the effectiveness of regional collaboration, intelligence-led enforcement, and coordinated deployment in addressing organized retail theft networks that operate across municipal and county lines. I congratulate all the agencies involved for their great work in this initiative.”
A total of 27 law enforcement agencies from Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland Counties, as well as state and federal partners, participated in this enforcement detail.
Westchester: Bedford Police Department, Croton–on-Hudson Police Department, Dobbs Ferry Police Department, Eastchester Police Department, Greenburgh Police Department and Greenburgh Task Force, Irvington Police Department, Mamaroneck Village Police Department, Mount Pleasant Police Department, New Rochelle Police Department, North Castle Police Department, Peekskill Police Department, Pelham Manor Police Department, Port Chester Police Department, Rye Police Department, Rye Brook Police Department, Westchester County Police Department, White Plains Police Department, Yonkers Police Department and Yorktown Police Department.
Rockland: Clarkstown Police Department, Haverstraw Police Department, Orangetown Police Department and Rockland County Intelligence Center.
Also: FBI Westchester Safe Streets Task Force, New York State Police and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
“Beyond the immediate arrests, follow-up investigation and consultation with regional loss prevention specialists revealed that many of the individuals apprehended were responsible for open cases involving similar theft patterns. As a result, these subjects are being charged with prior crimes, leading to the closure of numerous pattern cases across the region,” Raynor said.
The results included:
• 26 arrests made over two days
• Recovery of stolen merchandise
• Multiple suspects linked to additional thefts across the region
• Numerous open retail theft cases closed following follow-up investigations.
Following the operation, continued investigation and collaboration with regional loss prevention partners confirmed that many of those arrested were responsible for other similar thefts. These individuals are now being charged by the appropriate departments, helping bring closure to cases impacting multiple communities.