SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 17
CE LIN
SECTION A
E DO N
MARCH 20, 2015
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KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Lt. Andrew Copeland with the Keizer Police Department hands out badge stickers to children at Shelly's Kids Day Care on March 13. Copeland and others at KPD
have been making concerted efforts to reach out more to members of the Keizer community.
CRU cracking down on Keizer Station theft
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
In the past, the Community
Response Unit of the Keizer
Police Department was fo-
cused on drugs.
Since being brought back
early last year, CRU’s scope
has expanded. One of those
expansions has been the Or-
ganized Retail Crime posi-
tion, targeted at ongoing thefts
at businesses in Keizer – par-
ticularly at Keizer Station.
Figures from the KPD
show the need for such an
emphasis. One store in Keizer
Station reported more than
$130,000 in thefts last year,
while another store reported
$10,000 to $15,000 in losses
due to theft in one month.
Further KPD fi gures show
an average of 90 reported
criminal incidents annually at
the shopping center right off
Interstate 5 each year since
2011, with 103 in 2012, 107
in 2013 and 101 last year.
More troubling: fi gures
show that through the end
of February, there have al-
ready been 59 reported crimi-
nal incidents so far this year.
Of those calls, 34 percent in-
volved an arrest.
In terms of shoplifting
criminal incidents thus far in
2015, there have been 32 to-
tal in Keizer, with 22 at Keizer
Station. That means nearly
69 percent of shoplifting in-
cidents in the city so far this
year have been at Keizer Sta-
tion.
In preparing the data,
KPD’s crime analyst Cara
Steele includes an important
note: “A consistent rise in
reported incidents indicates
better reporting by merchants
and increased patrols by Keiz-
er Police.”
Steele noted offi cer Kevin
DeMarco, the ORC offi cer
in CRU, is laying the ground-
work for relationships with
Keizer Station merchants as
well as other police depart-
ments.
“He’s developing rela-
tionships with businesses in
Keizer Station,” Steele said of
DeMarco. “He’s been getting
good feedback. It will change.
We have been making some
good stops. Kevin has done an
exceptional job with the rela-
tionships.”
DeMarco said those in or-
ganized retail crime rings of-
ten travel up and down I-5,
hitting shopping centers.
Please see THEFT, Page A16
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