FLINT, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A Genesee County task force has a message for shoplifters: “we’re not going to tolerate it.”

The purpose of the new task force.

The new task force is being spearheaded by Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. He said most shoplifting crimes are misdemeanors handled and prosecuted by local municipalities. However, the county has seen an uptick in shoplifting recently. Leyton hopes collaboration within the task force will cut down on the crimes.

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“Our collective goal is to reduce shoplifting through increased collaborative law enforcement efforts, more dedicated, focused, and firm prosecution, and regular meetings of the task force partners to make sure we’re all on the same page and to strategize about the best ways to combat the problem,” Leyton said at a press conference.

Partnerships with local municipalities.

The prosecutor’s office is partnering with the city of Burton, Burton police, and several retailers.

“Hopefully the word gets out there that we’re not going to tolerate it and we are going to take care of business and you can come to our local retail stores and be safe,” said Burton Mayor Duane Haskins.

Repeat offenders.

Layton said his office is seeing repeat shoplifting offenders. A 48-year-old Flint man is one of those repeat shoplifting offenders who has been in jail 28 times.

As shoplifting gets under control in the county, Leyton said he’d like to eventually expand its efforts into other communities like Grand Blanc and Clio.

“It’s no longer simply something that businesses can afford to just write off as a cost of doing business. We’re seeing more and more repeat offenders, larger volumes of stolen merchandise, and we’re seeing organized rings of shoplifting activity that’s gone far beyond petty theft,” Leyton said.