What Do People Steal in Northborough? (It's Not Tide)

In Colorado, some stores have the Tide laundry detergent locked up, and there are security guards patroling the aisles, according to this report from ABC News.

The product is big on the black market, they say, because it's pricey and in high demand. Some thieves, as reported in the video, stole as much as $8,000 worth of the cleaner.

ABC News added that 95 percent of companies fell victim to organized retail crimes, according to figures from the National Retail Foundation.

Tide laundry detergent may be an alluring steal out west, but here in Central Massachusetts, thieves are keeping it clean in that department.

"I have not heard of Tide laundry [being a popular stolen product]," said Northborough Det. Sgt. Brian Griffin, "although as they say trends typically start out west and move east, so who knows, maybe we will see that."

Griffin said the most "popular" stolen items police encounter around here are clothing, jewelry, baby formula, food, alcohol, electronics, and health and beauty items such as razor blades and makeup. 

"We have had suspects try to remove large flat screens from BJs and Walmart," said Griffin. "Sometimes they are successful, and other times they are not. Some shoplifters are becoming more sophisticated, and will often use counter-surveillance measures to help accomplish their thefts."

Griffin said police talk with area departments to talk about various shoplifters and shoplifting trends in the area.  

"Typically, if we deal with a shoplifter, let’s say at CVS, chances are other CVS stores in the area have been targeted by the same suspect," said Griffin. "With better  surveillance equipment located within stores we typically can get a nice picture of the suspect committing the act. With that picture usually someone either from our department or another department  nearby can help us in identifying the suspect."