Retail Theft Not A Big Factor In Darien Crime Stats: Chief

Darien IL

09 May, 2022

9:13 AM

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DARIEN, IL – Darien regularly reports retail theft at Walmart's self-checkout aisles, but officials debate whether such offenses have a big impact on overall crime numbers. At last week's City Council meeting, Alderman Eric Gustafson said retail theft likely makes Darien's overall crime numbers seem considerably higher than they would be otherwise. He pointed to people under-scanning items at self-checkout aisles. Virtually all such arrests take place at Walmart, 2189 75th St. Gustafson said if a lot of local crime is retail theft, "that changes the complexion" of what's going on. Police Chief Greg Thomas disagreed. "On the face of it, I don't believe that's accurate," he said. "There's not that many retail thefts that occur. I'm fairly confident that they have not gone up either." Patch reported last year that calls to Walmart make up a tiny fraction of Darien's overall total. According to the annual crime report, Darien's crime has plunged over more than a decade. In 2011, the total number of crimes was 377. That number increased to 436 by 2014. But the overall statistic has been generally declining ever since, to 212 in 2021, the annual report said. Last year, Darien police received 10 reports of major violent crimes – one robbery, three sexual assaults and six assaults and batteries.