MORRISANIA — Officers from the 42nd precinct are pushing the Western Beef on Prospect Avenue to install security cameras outside the store after a rash of car break-ins at its parking lot.
There have been three car break-ins in the shop's lot, near East 165th Street, over the last four weeks, police said.
Capt. Steven Ortiz, the precinct's commanding officer, expressed frustration at Thursday's Community Council meeting that the supermarket seemed to place a higher priority on preventing shoplifting — by placing cameras inside — than on protecting its customers.
"You want their business, but yet you don’t care if their car gets broken into," he said.
Western Beef did not respond to requests for comment.
Ortiz advised attendees at the meeting not to leave items in their car if they went shopping at the Western Beef.
"Use your judgment," he said. "There are no cameras."
Grand larceny and petit larceny are both slightly down in the 42nd Precinct overall compared to last year. Through May 11, there have been 106 incidents of grand larceny and 278 incidents of petit larceny, compared to 108 and 281 incidents, respectively, through May 11 of 2013.
Ortiz criticized the supermarket for what he saw as a lack of urgency despite the thefts.
"My goal is to put an end to it before it becomes a bigger problem," he said.
