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Tigard Police Investigating Burglary-Two Suspects at Large
April 2010
Tigard Police are investigating a burglary that occurred at Pacific Star Communications.
An employee working alone reported a possible intrusion to the business located at 15055
SW Sequoia Parkway in Tigard at approximately 2PM on Sunday, May 10, 2009. Police found no
signs of forced entry or other indications the building had been entered by an
intruder. It wasn't until the following business day that it was evident someone
had entered the building and removed 13 laptop computers from the business.
Video surveillance obtained from inside the business clearly indicates two men
roaming the office areas. One image also depicts a subject rolling a chair
which may have been used to shuttle the laptops to an exit point.
These photographs have been shown on all of the local TV stations and flyers have been
distributed so far with negative results.
Tigard Police is asking the help of the public to possibly identify the two
subjects depicted in the photographs. If you have information, please contact
Ofc. Mike Webber at 503-718-2717 or webber@tigard-or.gov
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Commercial Crimes Unit - Working for You!
Last Updated: April, 2010
Thanks to the Commercial Crimes Unit (CCU)of the
Tigard Police Department, local retailers have a partner in crime fighting.
The CCU officers work directly with merchants to solve cases that in the past
wouldn't have been pursued due to lack of resources. This team of law
enforcement officers brings over 80 years of investigative skills
to a previously underserved segment of Tigard's community. Through 2009, the team has
forged ties with over 1,800 Tigard business owners.
Especially gratifying in challenging economic times, this unit assists merchants
with reducing crime before it happens as well as aggressive identification and
incarceration of suspects. They are working with retailers to minimize opportunities
to become victims of crime and providing a valuable service, which promotes
a healthier business community.
This ground-breaking program was launched in January 2008 after
new mapping tools showed an unsettling crime trend targeting Tigard's commercial district.
Statistics showed that property crimes were investigated less often to
devote police resources to traffic management and violent crime investigation.
Rather than add a new tax, the Tigard Police looked at the possibility of a unit
paid by, and dedicated to merchants. Funded by Business License fees, the Commercial
Crimes Unit's sole function is to assist retail and commercial business entities fight crime.
Commercial Crime Team Members go out to the businesses to work directly with merchants on assessing risk,
instituting prevention measures and dedicated investigative tools. This program has
gained the attention of other law enforcement agencies throughout the nation.
The officers assigned to the Commercial Crimes Unit have already combined forces
with over 100 law enforcement agencies, eBay, Craigslist, Comcast, HSBC, American Express, several major
airline companies, as well as the Oregon State Police, the Port of Portland,
the FBI, Secret Service, the Department of Justice and even the New York Police Department!
- In the year 2007, the year prior to the development of the Commercial Crimes Unit (CCU), the City of Tigard had an overall yearly total of 589 shoplifts reported; 538 in 2008 and 684 in 2009.
- In 2008, CCU partnered with the Washington Square mall security team and loss prevention managers to reduce the amount of crime to their businesses. The result was that CCU was able to
recognize and identify patterns of behavior, and track activity consistent to that of organized shoplifting rings.
Commonly known as Organized Retail crime, this continues to be addressed as a serious problem.
- Quarterly meetings and training opportunities are offered to educate the mall employees and security staff
on how to recognize, identify, and track criminal behaviors that are a sign of theft or the potential for theft.
- While our statistics show a significant increase in the number of shoplifting incidents, we believe our presence and partnership with Mall security and the merchants has resulted in more shoplifting cases being reported. In years past, merchants weren't reporting shoplifting crimes for a variety of reasons. Some cited store policy; some didn't see the merchandise leave the store and others simply wanted their property returned. We believe the merchants are now more inclined to report these incidents and pursue prosecution than they were in the past because of our diligent effort to encourage teamwork and provide education to them. Our crime rate hasn't necessarily increased. The stores have hired more loss prevention officers, provided them with additional training and become more aggressive in their endeavor.
- In 2009, CCU reviewed over 1,265 cases, investigated 184 cases; cleared 164 of those and wrote 248 reports. Of those 164 cases cleared, 102 were cleared by arrest, referred to the Grand Jury or cleared exceptionally, meaning an arrest could have been made but there were other extenuating circumstances, such as the victim refusing to prosecute, etc. That's nearly a 63% clearance rate. Not all of the cases we investigate are shoplifters. We have experienced a high volume of Organized Retail Crime - organized crime rings that hit our Mall stores and steal an enormous amount of product at one time. They are, for the most part, well organized and usually in groups of 5-9 individuals, all entering the stores at the same time. Our other investigations include, but are not limited to beer runs, identity theft cases, embezzlement/fraud cases and others.
- The ability of CCU to investigate business related crimes led to these successes; otherwise
a majority of these cases would not have been investigated due to lack of manpower and high call
volume. CCU bridges the gap between the Patrol officers and our Detective Unit. We have the ability
to go anywhere, anytime to conduct our investigations - while the patrol officer, due to calls
for service, are often unable to leave the City.
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