With crime rates rising in his neighborhood (and parts of the city overall), a Brooklyn bodega owner is taking matters into his own hands to stop people from stealing at his shop: shaming shoplifters in the store.
The owner of Green Olives Deli and Grill in Park Slope has been producing a "Thieves of the Week" video which he plays on a monitor in his store. The most recent video showed a group of teenage girls taking chips and candy without paying.
The owner said he's no longer playing that video at the request of the parents of one of the girls who was seen on surveillance video swiping treats.
"I think now everyone learned their lesson, and hopefully they don't do it again," said store owner Majeed Elbahri. "But if they do it again, of course, I'm going to put it back, thieves of the week. Because they have to be embarrassed about it."
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Police statistics for the 78th precinct, where the store is located, show year-over-year grand larceny is up a staggering 320 percent, while petty larceny is up 72 percent.
