“I’ve been here ten years,” Carucci told NBC10. “I put my life and blood and soul into this business. I’m here all the time.”“We had like, I would say, two or three shoplifters a day,” he said. “I would say we lost upwards of $50,000 to theft. That’s a lot of money. That’s a lot of money coming out of my pocket.”Carucci was not alone. According to Philadelphia Police, retail theft went up 27.56% in the city in 2023 compared to the previous year.
NBC10 Responds got a firsthand look at how the program works. One NBC10 Responds producer went down the aisle of Carucci’s store, took some candy off the shelf and put it in her bookbag. Carucci was immediately alerted on his phone.The alert went through the Veesion app along with a video of the suspected shoplifter in action.
The Loss Prevention Research Council at the University of Florida is testing different theft prevention measures on a larger scale.