STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Local officials and business owners joined together earlier this week to discuss the decrease of retail theft at the Staten Island Mall in New Springville.
According to officials, retail theft at the Mall has dropped 40% overall during the last 28-day period compared to 2024, which includes Black Friday, thanks to a special initiative the NYPD rolled out aimed at combating retail crime in the borough.
According to Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, Staten Island’s borough commander, the department’s specialized retail theft task force has been implemented not just at the Staten Island Mall, but The Boulevard in New Dorp, Bricktown Center in Charleston and Empire Outlets in St. George.
NYPD Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the Staten Island borough commander, along with commander Capt. Gzim Palaj, of Staten Island’s 121 visited the Staten Island Mall in New Springville to speak with shopkeepers about the departments latest retail theft prevention efforts on Dec. 15, 2025.Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
“Early in the year we put together a task force to combat retail theft because we started the year at over a 50% increase in retail related crimes,” Eger explained. “So we formed a team of one lieutenant, one sergeant and 10 officers — two police officers from each precinct, except the 121st Precinct that covers the Staten Island Mall. They supply four officers.“
Mall-specific data reveals a 25% decrease in retail theft and shoplifting year-to-date.
NYPD Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the Staten Island borough commander, along with other members of the NYPD visited the Staten Island Mall in New Springville to speak with shopkeepers about the department’s effort to reduce retail theft and overall crime in the mall during the holiday shopping season on Dec. 15, 2025.Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
Capt. Gzim Palaj, commander of Staten Island’s 121st Precinct, has been eager to address the theft issue head-on. The 121st Precinct covers the northwest part of the Island, including Mariners Harbor, Port Richmond, and the area of New Springville surrounding the Staten Island Mall.
The task force evolved from a previously successful holiday-only deployment in 2024 that helped form a more experienced and effective year-round unit. According to Eger, the task force is driven by intelligence-led policing, with officers receiving regular packages detailing which stores, items and suspects are being targeted on any given day.
To counter the anticipated rise in crime during the holiday shopping rush, the NYPD expanded the specialized task force from 10 to 16 officers boroughwide on Nov. 24, just ahead of Black Friday.
NYPD Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the Staten Island borough commander (right), along with commander Capt. Gzim Palaj, of Staten Island’s 121st precinct (left) pose in front of the Staten Island Mall’s Christmas tree in New Springville on Dec. 15, 2025.Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
For the Staten Island Mall specifically, the daily police presence was increased from four officers, to six to eight officers on site at any given time.
This expansion ensures that multiple officers are providing a constant and visible security presence in the Mall.
A cornerstone of the task force’s success has been a hyper-focused effort on identifying and pursuing recidivist offenders.
“When you look at the year-to-date, we identified approximately 98 individuals who were arrested three or more times this year for retail theft boroughwide,” Eger elaborated. “So throughout the year, working with the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office, bail was set in about 64% of these cases. It’s been a tremendous effort and collaboration — we are seeing those numbers drop.”
NYPD Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the Staten Island borough commander, along with other members of the NYPD visited the Staten Island Mall in New Springville to speak with shopkeepers about the department’s effort to reduce retail theft and overall crime in the mall during the holiday shopping season on Dec. 15, 2025.Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
By concentrating on these repeat offenders, who are often responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime, the department can more effectively disrupt theft patterns, Eger added.
This approach allows law enforcement to direct resources to where they will have the greatest impact on overall crime reduction.
The intense focus on the Staten Island Mall is justified, Eger explained, as it accounts for 20% of all retail theft-related grand larcenies in the borough.
“Securing the Mall is central to our mission of combating retail theft because year-to-date, this number has remained pretty consistent throughout the past few years,” Eger said.
Palaj credited direct communication between police and retailers, including sharing personal phone numbers, which allows for an immediate response to crimes in progress
NYPD Assistant Chief Melissa Eger (middle), the Staten Island borough commander, along with commander Capt. Gzim Palaj (left), of Staten Island’s 121st precinct along with other members of the NYPD visited the Staten Island Mall in New Springville to speak with Staten Island Mall General Manager Jim Easley (right) and shopkeepers about the department’s effort to reduce retail theft and overall crime in the mall during the holiday shopping season on Dec. 15, 2025.Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
“It’s a partnership that we have with the director of security at the Mall. They’ve obtained video for us where sometimes we may not have gotten the video in the store, but we have video of them leaving the store, walking through the Mall and exiting outside,” Palaj said. “The collaboration we have with them is why we’re so successful. Working with them, the asset protection officers in the stores — that’s really credited with the drop in overall crime.”
Staten Island Mall General Manager Jim Easley praised the police partnership as critical, stating the Mall would be in “deep trouble” without it. According to Easley, the highly visible, uniformed police presence has served as a powerful deterrent against would-be shoplifters and potential violent incidents in the Mall.
NYPD Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the Staten Island borough commander, along with other members of the NYPD visited the Staten Island Mall in New Springville to speak with shopkeepers about the department’s effort to reduce retail theft and overall crime in the mall during the holiday shopping season on Dec. 15, 2025.Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
“The best thing that the chief has done, in my opinion, for this Mall is the relationship and the confidence that she’s given her police officers and her patrolmen to be able to come down here, respond to things and take care of business when they need to,” Easley said. “We have thousands of people that are here every day, and some of them are bad people. When the police department responds, they know what to do. They’re extremely well trained and they know who some of these people are already. It’s nice having that relationship. Without it, I think we would be in deep trouble.”
The proof is in the numbers, according to law enforcement. Strategic police placement at theft hotspots like Sephora led to a 33% reduction in crime at that store
“Our retail community knows our officers by name, knows their contact numbers, and that’s where they direct report when a crime happens, when they’re working,” Eger said. “All officers respond to the 911 calls from establishments as well.”
NYPD Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the Staten Island borough commander (right), poses with a member of the public on Dec. 15, 2025.Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
On-site patrol tactics include positioning officers at rotating posts throughout the Mall’s interior and exterior while monitoring high-traffic stores such as Macy’s and Apple. These tactics have contributed to the reduction of theft.
“If there’s a crime in Sephora at the Mall, we’ll speak to Zara, we’ll speak to Pandora, we’ll just speak to all of our partners, and they’ll say, ‘Yes, we had a similar crime today,’ or ‘We saw those individuals on surveillance camera,’” Eger explained. “We’re able to charge these criminals with multiple crimes through the help of our retail community. That’s a tremendous asset for our crime fighting.”
Easley indicated that shoplifting is the number one topic that shopkeepers talk about during the holidays.
“When one of the stores gets hit by an organized retail crime theft, they talk about it all the time,” Easley said. “Some of the retailers have gone as far as to hire their own loss prevention specialists.”
“The police force has definitely stepped up in staffing the mall for us,” said a manager at JD Sports. “The response time’s always been great if there ever was an issue— we’ve had to call them maybe once or twice and they were always here right away.”Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
A manager at JD Sports noted that “more cops is better” and that their presence is a primary reason for the decrease in theft attempts.
“I don’t think they can ever have too big a presence, honestly. I think they’re a great deterrent for theft,” the manager elaborated. “I’ve definitely noticed going through this holiday season so far, there has been less in recent years… less theft, less attempted theft.”
Police officials said the benefits extend beyond preventing shoplifting, as officers on patrol also address other issues such as potential felony assaults and disorderly groups in the food court.
“Last year around Christmas time I saw a lot of police here and then today is the first time I’ve seen a lot of police since then honestly,” Cathrine Savoretti of Dongan Hills said as she held her daugher Ameila, 1. Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
The enhanced police presence also provides security for large community events held at the Mall, like a recent Menorah lighting ceremony which drew a crowd of 200 people to the Mall’s center court.
“Obviously because of the recent attack on the Jewish community in Australia…we were going to have a presence regardless but we beefed it up to make people feel safe,” Palaj said. “That’s what it comes down to, we want people to feel safe coming to the Mall. I think everybody had a good time and they went home safely.”
NYPD Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, gently pats an NYPD sticker onto 1-year-old Amelia Savoretti, during a vist to the Staten Island Mall in New Springville on Dec. 15, 2025.Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
Easley cautioned shoppers not to become complacent and to watch their surroundings.
As the old adage goes, ‘Watch your back no matter where you are, pay attention to your own surroundings,’” Easley advised. “You should always keep your guard up even though you are in a fairly safe environment.”
The success on Staten Island aligns with a 20% citywide decrease in retail theft, reflecting a broader municipal focus on combating retail crime.