226 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
226 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
March 1990
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STORE DIVERSION BURGLARIES
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By
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Detective Robert P. Meiners
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Lincolnwood, Illinois, Police Department
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Store diversion burglaries have plagued retailers across the
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United States for many years. These crimes occur when
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offenders, acting in concert with one another, remove valuables
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from commercial establishments while employing diversionary
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tactics. It is estimated that retail losses due to such thefts
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have totaled between $2-3 million within the past 15 years. (1)
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OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS
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According to police intelligence information, a core group
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of offenders migrated from Canada and settled in the Chicago
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area. Members of the group, who have identified themselves as
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Yugoslavian gypsies, are men and women of all ages, even
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children. These individuals have dark complexions, with dark
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hair and eyes. As a result owners and managers of victimized
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businesses frequently describe them as Mexican or Hispanic.
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Members of the group use several aliases and dates of birth
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in an attempt to create confusion and hinder proper
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identification if arrested or stopped for questioning. Although
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they are most frequently identified with store diversion
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burglaries, there is documentation that they have become
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criminally active in passport fraud, fraud against insurance
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companies, robberies, residential burglaries, and drug
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trafficking in recent years.
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TRAVEL PATTERNS
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These individuals travel extensively throughout the United
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States as a group, employing their criminal expertise; all but
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eight States (2) have reported monetary losses attributed to them.
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While committing a crime, they will use as many as 12 vehicles,
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usually large, luxury cars, and up to 30 people at one time. The
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vehicles are equipped with citizen band radios and cellular
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phones, and in most cases, have legally issued license plates.
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However, at times, the license plates have been switched, bent,
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obliterated, or removed to prevent or inhibit identification.
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These offenders will also fly commercial airliners to their
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destinations and then rent cars, which they will return to a
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different airport. For example, in 1986, a group flew from
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Chicago to Los Angeles, where they rented vehicles. After
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committing several diversion burglaries of large department
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stores in California and Oregon, they abandoned the cars at the
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San Francisco airport and then flew back to Chicago.
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TACTICS EMPLOYED
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Once a business has been targeted, the females of the group,
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who are responsible for committing the burglary, usually enter
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first. These women are dressed in colorful long skirts and tops
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and usually carry no purse. The men, typically dressed in casual
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western wear, then follow the women into the establishment.
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These men are often accompanied by children who assist with the
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diversion.
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The diversion begins when the women attempt to confuse store
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employees by asking nonsensical questions. For example, in a
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California case, an offender asked for ``beer without yeast''
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and for chickens that could be stuffed with steak. In Milwaukee,
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WI, one female subject asked the clerk where the dietetic baby
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food was kept and then insisted that the clerk personally
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accompany her to the location. In another Wisconsin grocery
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mart, a female offender distracted a store employee for several
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minutes by constantly inquiring about the contents of a jar of
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beef sticks, asking if they were pork chops.
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Some offenders feign illness and threaten police action if
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clerks and/or managers do not assist them. They have also
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pretended to be store workers who will lead legitimate customers
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away from the area where the valuables (usually cash and jewelry)
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are being removed.
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Shoplifting is occasionally used as a deliberate diversion
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tactic to lure the manager from the office area where the safe is
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located. And in extreme cases, female offenders have exposed
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private body parts in an attempt to stop store employees, who
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have discovered a burglary in progress, from calling the police.
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While these distractions are taking place, other members of
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the group seek out safes, money pouches, or rear storage areas
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where valuables are kept. In one particular case involving a
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jewelry store, a clerk was asked to clean and gift wrap some very
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expensive stemware, engaging all employees in the store to make
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the sale. While the clerk was doing this, all the valuables in
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the display cases were removed. The offenders then advised store
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personnel that they would return later with payment and exited
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the store. Only after they left was the jewelry discovered
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missing.
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These offenders will also make very small purchases with
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large denomination bills. This forces the clerk to hand over a
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substantial amount of change, enabling offenders to discover
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where the larger amounts of store cash are kept.
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TARGETS
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The size of the establishment, or the type of business, is
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inconsequential, as along as valuables are present. Small
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markets, large stores, and even shopping malls have been
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targeted. The offenders have also ``hit'' the same chain store
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at different locations on the same day after learning the layout
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and security of the stores. The pattern for this type of offense
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is to strike as many stores as possible in a particular area,
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often crossing jurisdictional boundaries.
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Oftentimes, store losses will not be discovered for hours or
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days after the crime has been committed. In some cases, store
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employees have even been accused of committing the crime, because
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store managers often mistake the crimes committed by groups using
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diversionary tactics with employee theft.
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POLICE/PROSECUTOR STRATEGIES
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The best evidence is a video tape of the event. Absent this,
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known offender photographs are the next best resource in
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attempting to build a case.
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If an agency is successful in making an arrest, one
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individual, always a male group member, will come forward to act
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as a spokesman for the offenders and will usually offer
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restitution in lieu of prosecution. When faced with the prospect
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of making an identification in the store, owners and employees,
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who actually did not see the crime being committed, opt for
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restitution, which frees the victim from court appearances.
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The criminal case itself may be fundamentally weak since, in
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all probability, there were several group members present when
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the offense occurred and little or no evidence as to who actually
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took the valuables. In such instances, police and prosecuting
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attorneys, faced with the prospect of a weak case, may also favor
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restitution. This, at least, identifies the offenders and
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returns the property to its rightful owner. However, since many
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stores are targeted in the area, and cases of store diversion
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burglaries are not prosecuted, restitution amounts to simply
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little more than the price of doing business for these offenders.
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Prosecution can be problematic because no two jurisdictions
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prosecute cases alike, considering the fact that these offenders
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attack numerous stores in a given area. Additionally, when faced
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with the prospect of jail, offenders have left the jurisdiction.
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With their adeptness for using aliases, these offenders remain
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undetected for long periods of time, and in some cases,
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completely avoid apprehension.
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On a positive note, however, some jurisdictions have been
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successful in prosecuting these offenders by building a case
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based on the group's collective activity or standard method of
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operation. Other options employed by affected jurisdictions may
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include Federal charges, such as Interstate Flight to Avoid
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Prosecution, as the offenders travel across the United States.
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In some instances, local or Federal racketeering statutes may be
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applied on a Federal level or locally if the jurisdiction has a
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similar statute.
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The following recommendations may be helpful in apprehending
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and prosecuting these criminals:
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* Verify identity of offenders through FBI fingerprint checks
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and FBI number
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* Educate local retailers as to the methods used in store
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diversion burglaries
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* Ensure all restitution agreements are made after the arrest
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or indictment
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* Photograph and fingerprint all suspects, even if the case is
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too weak for prosecution and/or restitution is accepted
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* Create a clearinghouse within each State for this type of
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information and a nationwide network to exchange it
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* Enact or use existing RICO statutes to prosecute these
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cases, if this type of crime is considered the work of an
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organized criminal enterprise
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* Update information on the ever-changing tactics of these
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criminals and circulate among the widest law enforcement
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audience possible
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CONCLUSION
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Due to the mobility of these criminals and their stealth and
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teamwork in committing store diversion burglaries, law
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enforcement will have to devise creative strategies to deal with
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them. Patrol officers responding to the crime scene should be
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well informed about this type of crime so that they can gather
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critical evidence and witness statements. Follow-up
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investigators must know where to obtain information and
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assistance in order to bring these cases to a successful
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conclusion. Law enforcement managers must ensure that
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information derived concerning this type of activity is shared
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and disseminated to the widest law enforcement audience possible.
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Store diversion burglary is becoming a common problem in the
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United States. Law enforcement must be aware of its elements,
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must develop strategies to police and prosecute these crimes, and
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must act aggressively in the pursuit of these strategies.
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FOOTNOTES
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(1) ``Criminal Intelligence Bulletin,'' prepared by the
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Lincolnwood, Il, Police Department and the Indiana State Police,
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April 1989, p. 30.
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(2) The States are Alaska, Hawaii, Arkansas, Rhode Island,
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West Virginia, Kentucky, Montana, and Vermont.
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______________
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An index that includes photographs and identifiers on
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approximately 110 offenders who commit store diversion burglaries
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can be obtained by writing to the Lincolnwood, IL, Police
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Department, Investigations Unit, 6918 N. Keeler Ave.,
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Lincolnwood, IL 60646
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