Duane Reade Crime Unit Cracking Down on Tampon Theft

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Two things you might not know about Duane Reade: First, that there's been a rash of theft lately predominantly involving feminine products, and second, that there's a specialized plain-clothes task force on the job for such matters. An article in DNAinfo explains that back in September, several Duane Reades were hit, and that the "perpetrators focused solely on mass quantities of feminine products, from pregnancy tests to tampons."

To stop it, the NYPD coordinated a sting operation with Duane Reade's Store Detectives Program. One of its members, Dela Cruz, busted the thieves four hours into the operation. "They were hitting us big, for like grand larceny amounts. I told John [Murphy, my boss], 'They're going to come again next Sunday. We've got to do something about this.'" The robbers went to jail and Cruz was awarded a medal from the NYPD, which he then proudly showed to his mom.
· Duane Reade 'Detective' Honored for Fighting Crime [DNAinfo]
· UWS Duane Reade Sells Its Beer Pong Balls Next to Its Condoms [Racked NY]
· The Duane Reade Salon's Ultimate Test: Kate Middleton Hair [Racked NY]