Roughly 25% of Detroit dollar stores were robbed in January
Former Detroit police chief says dollar stores did not want to partner with police, making them an 'easy target' for crime.
Criminals in the Motor City are taking advantage of "soft target" discount stores, with roughly 25% of all Detroit dollar stores robbed in the first 22 days of January.
Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Thursday he's "not surprised" that at least 20 armed robberies have occurred at the stores after managers "rejected" extra security measures proposed by law enforcement during his tenure.
"We struggled with working with management of dollar stores to make them harder targets," Craig said. "Something we started in Detroit called Green Light with video cameras, they rejected it. They didn't want anything to do with hardening the target."
Craig said he was "shocked" the stores did not want high-definition video cameras connected to the department's real-time crime center, arguing Project Green Light has successfully reduced carjackings and crime for local businesses who participate.
FLOOD AT DETROIT HIGH SCHOOL CAUSED BY BROKEN PIPES, STUDENTS DISPLACED
A Family Dollar store pictured in Middletown, Ohio, in 2017. Police say a 10-year-old boy intentionally started a fire that caused $200,000 in damage. (FOX19 NOW/Frankie Jupiter)
"It's really sad. The people that hurt from [crime] are the customers and certainly the employees that work [there]," Craig said.
"There's no sense of responsibility."
The Family Dollar defended its security efforts after Detroit Police Chief James White labeled the stores "soft targets."
"Our data does not indicate our stores are soft targets," the statement read. "In addition to our ongoing investments in store security, we work with law enforcement to help them identify and apprehend individuals who have committed crimes in our stores, which has also led to the capture of criminals who have committed other violent crimes in our communities."
Craig also pointed the finger at liberal soft-on-crime policies and President Biden, saying he "knows nothing about policing" or supporting law enforcement.
"Look at what happened in Atlanta the other day, you have a law enforcement officer that was shot. And in response, certainly faced with that deadly threat, they took the life of that suspect. And what happens? A riot in Atlanta, because they don't want what's called a ‘cop city.’ It's ridiculous and it needs to stop," he said.
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As crime and violence continue to plague U.S. cities, New York City shop owners have begun hiring their own private security guards to try and deter thefts.
Bodega and Small Business Association founder Francisco Marte told "Fox & Friends" Thursday that stores are not getting the help they need as they face a surge in shoplifting.
"We have to fight for our stores because we are independent owners, we're not corporate," Marte said. "A lot of our employees, they get assaulted."
"We are not feeling safe."