HILLSBORO Ore. (KPTV) - With a $1,545,487 grant from the state of Oregon to the Washington County DA's office, county agencies are dedicating extra resources to respond quickly or watch a store and make arrests on the spot when they catch someone shoplifting.
WSCO Sergeant Robert Rookhuyzen said that during this mission, any shoplifter they catch will go to jail, no matter how small the offense.
"A lot of times when we encounter people or shoplifting, we kind of get a response of, 'Well give me my ticket and I'll be on my way.' And then they kind of continue and keep doing the same thing."
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Usually, a person would need to steal at least $1,000 of merchandise to spend any time behind bars. But during this mission, anyone caught shoplifting will immediately be booked into the Washington County Jail.
On Thursday, the Hillsboro Police Department arrested three people seen by a Target employee allegedly leaving the store on Southeast Tualatin Valley Highway with about $1,000 worth of merchandise.
Police said one suspect had a felony warrant for arrest, and officers allegedly found methamphetamine.
That same night, another arrest was made at the location on Northeast Evergreen Parkway for another alleged $1,000 theft.
Police say these missions often lead to charges in bigger cases or connect the suspect to previous thefts.
"Hopefully the element of surprise is there. People who are committing these crimes, they don't know where we're going to be and when we're going to be there," Rookhuyzen said.