STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A number of grinches stole from several stores ahead of the holidays — specifically stores located in and around the Staten Island Mall in New Springville.

During the week of Dec. 16 through Dec. 22, there were 101 reported cases of petit larceny on Staten Island, as indicated by the most recent data available from the NYPD. It marks a 13.5% increase in cases compared to the same time period last year, when there were 89 such cases.

The majority of these reported cases of petit larceny took place in the vicinity of major shopping centers on Staten Island, particularly the Staten Island Mall. The area around the major retail destination saw at least 16 reported cases within the seven-day stretch, as revealed by the NYPD.

In the time from Dec. 18 through Dec. 22, petit larceny cases were up 51.6% (47 versus 31) in the vicinity of the 121st Precinct compared to 2023. The only other precinct on Staten Island that saw a jump in these cases compared to the same week last year was the 122nd Precinct, which saw a bump of 50% (21 versus 14).

The 123rd Precinct actually saw a 61.1% reduction (7 versus 18) in petit larceny reports in those seven days compared to the same time last year.

Despite these figures, petit larceny remains down across every Island precinct year-to-date; according to the NYPD, there were 3,964 reports in 2024 versus 4,316 reports in 2023, an 8.2% decrease.

Cracking down on retail theft

Back in November, Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the NYPD’s borough commander for Staten Island, explained how under her watch, retail theft would become a priority.

“The Staten Island retail community has gone through a lot since the legislative reforms of 2020,” Eger said. “We see the same recidivists committing multiple retail thefts at the same retail locations.”

Ahead of the holiday season, Eger said she would form a team dedicated to cracking down on retail theft at the Island’s major shopping centers. In addition to rooting out recidivist criminals, officers at these stores encouraged business owners to use Auror, an independent application used within the retail community to share real-time information which could assist them in safeguarding their products.

Even if a perpetrator was arrested, some of these recidivists would be let off the hook. However, thanks to legislative changes in Albany, the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office has been empowered to hold these criminals accountable.

“Like so many Staten Islanders, I am tired of standing in line at the pharmacy waiting for someone to unlock the shaving cream while some thug comes in and swipes whatever items are left unlocked,” McMahon said in a November statement. “Thanks to recent legislative changes passed in Albany, my prosecutors have been empowered to aggregate the total value of goods stolen by repeat retail thieves, allowing petit larceny cases to be elevated into felonious grand larcenies and strengthening criminal penalties for those who pilfer from our borough’s business community. This new law has enabled law enforcement to hold retail recidivists more accountable in the courtroom and my office has wasted no time utilizing this new tool to our advantage, prosecuting countless cases in just seven months since the nascent law went into effect.”