NCJ Number
123806
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 59 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1990) Pages: 7-10
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Store diversion burglaries have plagued retailers across the United States for many years, and it is estimated that retail losses due to such thefts have totaled as much as $3 million within the past 15 years.
Abstract
Originally based in Chicago, one group includes members who identify themselves as Yugoslavian gypsies and who use several aliases and dates of birth to create confusion and hinder proper identification if arrested or stopped for questioning. Although they are most frequently identified with store diversion burglaries, they have become criminally active in passport fraud, fraud against insurance companies, robberies, residential burglaries, and drug trafficking. They travel extensively throughout the United States and use various tactics to divert store clerks and customers away from the area where valuables, usually cash and jewelry, are being removed. Shoplifting is occasionally used as a deliberate diversion tactic to lure the manager away from the office area where the safe is located. While distractions are taking place, group members seek out safes, money pouches, and rear storage areas where valuables are kept. The best evidence for the police and prosecutors is a videotape of the event. Absent such a tape, known offender photographs are the next best resource in building a case. With their adeptness for using aliases, however, group members can remain undetected for long periods of time and, in some cases, completely avoid apprehension. Some jurisdictions have been successful in prosecuting the offenders by building a case based on the group's collective activity or standard method of operation. Recommendations to assist in the apprehension and prosecution of store diversion criminals are offered. 2 references.