gave Action News exclusive access to drone footage of shoplifting arrests made over the past few months. And it was the drone itself, that made those arrests possible.Detective Glenn Vandegrift says at the heart of it is a small fleet of drones that are quickly launched after a local retail theft is reported.
In one case, information about the theft of a bicycle, along with the suspect's location, was passed along to the responding officer who made the arrest less than a mile away from the shop that was targeted. "Our clearance rate for retail thefts is 62%. That is significantly higher than the national average," said Vandegrift.
And the township had good reason to develop this program. Last year, the department received nearly 900 reports of retail theft.Detective Vandegrift is now hopeful that the success of the task force will inspire other departments to install similar programs to help find thieves who come in from out of town, or even from out of state.
He also wants this effort to send a message loud and clear: "It doesn't matter if it's $20 or $200, we're coming at you just as hard."is a collaboration between Bensalem police, local officials, and the Bucks County District Attorney's office, and their efforts go far beyond drones and shoplifting.Israel fired 3 missiles in limited strike on Iran: Senior US official