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Birch Run Outlet Mall
/ Mike Horne
A Genesee County task force is cracking down on shoplifters. Twenty adults and five juveniles were arrested Friday, spent the night in the county jail and were all arraigned Saturday morning on shoplifting charges.
The Birch Run Outlet Mall is one of several Mid-Michigan merchants that helped put 24 extra cops on the streets Friday. Police say the amount of shoplifting complaints from retailers keep coming in and that shoplifting losses have nearly tripled since spring.
Zero arrests were made yesterday at the Birch Run Outlet Mall and they attribute that to their tightened security.
"Every store is different," Phil Whitsel, the mall's Marketing Manager says. "If you stay proactive and you know what's going on out there you know what to watch for. Then you can share information between all the different retail stores and shopping centers in our market area. That is one key to staying on top of issues like this."
The shoplifting arrest blitz started at 8:30 Friday morning and wrapped up around 10:00 p.m. Friday night.
