JOINT OPERATION CRACKS DOWN ON SHOPLIFTERS.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

As a 42-year-old woman sat in a chair at a Vons security office Friday night, she looked at two packages of steak, four boxes of clothes dye, a bottle of aspirin and pool chemicals she was suspected of taking.

She said that her children were hungry, trying to explain her reason for taking the items. Store security officials said they caught her stuffing the items into her bag and they stopped her as she left without paying.

She was one of more than seven suspects stopped Friday night during Operation Shoplift a joint effort between the Sheriff's Department and the business community in Palmdale.

"We want the criminal element to feel unwelcome," said Deputy Brian Torsney. "We want the business community to feel safe to do business here and let shoplifters know we will not tolerate them."

While many stores hire their own loss-prevention agents in addition to uniformed private security, they tend not to prosecute shoplifters for small amounts.

"Tonight we're working with the stores to take as many as we can," Torsney said. "We're going on a zero tolerance and letting shoplifters know that no amount is acceptable.

"We've been pretty successful," he said. "Anytime you have high visibility of patrol, you made an great impact."

Along with Torsney were two specially trained reserve deputies, who patrolled the shopping centers picking up shoplifting suspects store officials had detained.

Shoplifters are responsible for taking $100,000 in items a year, Torsney said. "It's the consumer that ends up paying the price," he said.

Among those stopped during Operation Shoplift was a juvenile who was on probation and a man wanted for $42,000 in warrants.

Torsney who works directly with businesses in Palmdale said he recognized there was a serious shoplifting problem in July.

Businesses were seeing a major trend in shoplifting, where the regular shoplifter who would take small items was replaced by groups of people entering stores and clearing shelves of high-ticket items such as cigarettes, aspirin, batteries and alcohol while others stood guard.

"These are items that can be easily sold," said Torsney, who added that in some cases the shoplifters would then take items to other smaller stores and try and sell them there.

Torsney believes other items like aspirin and other drugs were targeted because of their use to make illicit drugs.

Ray Duvernay, 26, of Palmdale found Friday night's operation a good idea but was sympathetic to those who are homeless or hungry and really need food.

"You see some people starving and you can understand, but gang shoplifters should be stopped," Duvernay said. "I hope this will stop them from that type of activity."