Acting DA Mike Keane Participates in National Store Walk Month

Friday, September 13, 2024

Erie County, New York - Yesterday, Acting District Attorney Mike Keane and Chief Gary Ertel of our office's Special Investigations and Prosecutions Bureau met with Dave Cuva, District Loss Prevention Manager of Dicks Sporting Goods, and members of their Walden Galleria store management and loss prevention team as part of National Store Walk Month.

National Store Walk Month was established last September through the partnership of the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) to address the urgent issue of retail crime and its rippling impact on our communities.

National Store Walk Month is an opportunity for prosecutors to connect with participating retailers to exchange valuable insights, foster mutual understanding and collaboratively develop crime mitigation strategies to reduce thefts and other unlawful activity occurring inside and around stores. The goal is to foster conversations between prosecutors, store management and loss prevention officers to better understand the challenges while creating a unified response to address and prevent retail-related crimes.

"Theft, vandalism, and other crimes are financial devastating for retailers, especially our small business owners. In addition to the negative economic impact for local businesses and our community, I am deeply concerned about the serious threat that thieves pose to the safety of employees and customers. I want the residents of Erie County to know that retail crime with not be tolerated and I am committed to holding offenders, particularly repeat offenders, accountable. I look forward to working with our local retailers to find solutions to curb these crimes,"said Acting Erie County DA Mike Keane.

In addition to lost revenue, retail theft undermines local economies and threatens the viability of storefronts in neighborhoods. In recent years, organized theft and habitual theft has become more brazen and violent, raising safety concerns for business owners, employees, customers, shopping districts and communities throughout the country. National Store Walk Month aims to address these concerns to create safer communities for shoppers, store employees, and residents.

Acting DA Mike Keane is committed to prosecuting offenders and creating safer spaces for retailers, customers, and our residents. He assigned two Assistant District Attorneys in his office's Special Investigations and Prosecutions (SIP) Bureau to serve as part of the Organized Retail Crime Task Force. The group consists of local law enforcement and loss prevention employees who meet monthly to investigate thefts and other retail crimes in Erie County.

For more information on National Store Walk Month and on how to participate, please visit: https://ndaa.org/programs/storewalk