By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — Care for a little larceny with that latte?
Police say Starbucks cafes on the Upper West Side don't cooperate with crime prevention efforts, refusing to let cops hand out fliers, post signs or train employees about preventing thefts.
"I guess they felt like it gave their establishment a negative image," said Officer Jason Harper, a community affairs officer in the 26th Precinct, which covers parts of the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights and Harlem.
Harper asked the manager of a bustling Starbucks on Broadway near Columbia University for permission to post signs to remind customers to keep an eye on their purses and laptops. The manager refused.
Adrian Carmona, president of the 26th Precinct's Community Council, got a similarly cool reception when he volunteered to put up 'watch your bag' signs at a Starbucks in Morningside Heights.
"They told me that what people did with their property was not their concern," Carmona said. "They wanted no part of any offer of assistance."
Police in other Upper West Side precincts, where cops say property theft is a common but preventable crime, said they too have run into resistance from Starbucks.
A Starbucks spokesman disputed the idea that the coffee chain doesn't cooperate with police. Spokesman Alan Hilowitz insisted Starbucks employees meet regularly with the NYPD to review security procedures.
Hilowitz said Starbucks posted signs warning customers against thefts at "several" of the chain's busiest New York locations, but he couldn't give details on exactly which stores those were.
He added that Starbucks employees are trained to do regular checks of the store to ensure cleanliness and security, and that Starbucks headquarters recently reminded store employees nationwide to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
"The responsibility lies on both sides," Hilowitz said. "We need to keep our eyes open and our customers need to do the same thing."
Along with gyms and movie theaters, Starbucks cafes are a common target for Upper West Side thieves, who typically strike when customers leave their laptops to go to the bathroom or hang a purse on the back of a chair.
In the 20th Precinct, which runs from West 59th to 86th Street between Central Park and the Hudson River, there were 27 thefts at Starbucks in 2009 and 15 in 2010.
Police say a simple flier at the cash register reminding customers to be vigilant could put a dent in the problem.
NYPD crime prevention officers routinely work with businesses where thefts are commonplace. A police source said the Loews movie theater on Broadway and West 68th Street was a "prime example."
After cops noticed the theater was a hotspot for wallet snatching and other thefts, crime prevention officers met with Loews management. As a result, police got permission to post a sign in the theater reminding patrons to watch their valuables along with the movie.
One crime prevention officer said individual managers at Starbucks aren't necessarily opposed to fliers or signs about property theft. They tell police that corporate headquarters tells them to say no to the offers.
"I don't know why their corporate isn't open to us putting our (fliers) inside their facility," a police source said."It's merely us trying to educate the public."
