‍

Dierbergs Market Unable to Identify Repeat Theft Suspect

Dierbergs Market is a family-owned supermarket with 27 stores throughout the St.Louis metropolitan area. Before implementing Flock Safety, they were facing numerous cases of theft. There was one particular repeat theft suspect who would continuously steal cases of hard liquor.  Tim Larouere, Director of Loss Prevention at Dierbergs Market, said they were not able to identify him. That’s what sparked their initial interest with Flock Safety, to be able to find a solution to identify the individual and solve the crime.

‍

Dierbergs Market Identifies ORC Suspect with Flock Safety Cameras

They started off with putting license plate recognition cameras in 3 of the locations where the suspect frequently stole from. The LPR cameras captured the individual’s license plate and vehicle description. This information was then given to local police and the suspect responsible for $20K+ in stolen merchandise was arrested. 

‍

“And with the Flock System at 3 of our locations, we were able to help solve all of those crimes within a matter of about a month and a half of putting Flock in. And that’s when my owners came to me and said, let’s roll it out company wide,” - Tim Larouere, Director of Loss Prevention at Dierbergs Market

Since expanding their camera coverage, Flock Safety has helped Dierbergs Market solve a myriad of other cases.

‍

“Flock Safety has helped us deter and solve crimes. From a silver alert where an elderly person was reported missing, we were able to help find that individual for the police department. All the way down to typical shoplifting cases.” -   Tim Larouere, Director of Loss Prevention at Dierbergs Market

‍

‍

‍

There was another case in which two individuals stole $1100 worth of merchandise. The suspects had gone to multiple Dierberg locations stealing items. Their security team was able to use the camera footage from the various locations to detect the license plate and put their plate on a Custom Hot List alert. Their local law enforcement agency also had Flock Safety and with that collaboration and alerts from the agency’s system, they were able to arrest those 2 individuals.

‍

“Without Flock Safety and without the collaboration of the police department, we would not be able to solve this case that quickly. There is no ifs, ands, or buts about it,” - Tim Larouere, Director of Loss Prevention at Dierbergs Market

‍

‍

Flock Safety Strengthens Collaboration with Law Enforcement

Flock Safety has helped to strengthen the relationship between Dierbergs and local law enforcement. Larouere recalls a local municipality that was very understaffed and faced challenges dealing with their shoplifting cases. He said they were grateful when he told them Dierbergs would be installing Flock Safety cameras because they knew the impact it has to help deter and solve crime.

‍

That police department has now recovered 10+ stolen cars because of Flock Safety alerts from the NCIC database. Larouere said the cameras have been well received by community members and community leaders.

‍

Enhancing Employee Safety with Flock Safety

Larouere said the cameras have also enhanced employee safety as well. Whether employees are dealing with domestic disputes, individuals with protective orders, or other conflicts, they can put those identified individuals' vehicle details  in the system. This way they are alerted if they come into the store and their employees can step away from the storefront so they can remain safe until the individual leaves. 

‍

Larouere said the LPR cameras have integrated seamlessly with their existing traditional video monitoring systems. They have security personnel who monitor the system for high end ORC cases. They have integrated the Flock alerts to come in on their cell phone and on their computer screens so they can respond to incidents that are happening while they monitor the video cameras. He said the cameras have proven to be a deterrent for crime as well.

‍