Dial 911 for Emergency

Two Men Arrested After Attempted Robbery of Man Downtown

Incident #: 50-14-17998      Date/Time:  Friday, July 11th, 2014 at 12:18PM

Location: Kings Highway/Division Street, Dover, Delaware

Narrative:
Two men are in custody and facing charges of 2nd degree attempted robbery after assaulting a man and attempting to take his money on Friday afternoon.  Shortly after noon on Friday, police responded to the area of Kings Highway and Division Street for an attempted armed robbery.  Upon arrival, a male victim advised that two suspects had assaulted him by punching him in the face and then rummaged through his pockets/clothing seeking money.  The suspect then fled without anything.  A short time later, police observed Maurice Butler (22) and Shaquille Drummond (18).  Drummond was taken into custody immediately without incident.  Butler fled from Dover officers towards the area of Central Middle School, running through the woods and eventually being captured inside of the Silver Lake Park.  The victim did not sustain any serious injuries.  Bond information was nto available at the time of release.

Officer Releasing Information: Cpl. Mark Hoffman, Public Information Officer

Maurice Butler Jr. Age: 22 Charges: Attempted Robbery 2nd Degree Conspiracy 2nd Degree Resisting Arrest
Maurice Butler Jr.
Age: 22
Charges: Attempted Robbery 2nd Degree
Conspiracy 2nd Degree
Resisting Arrest
Shaquille Drummond Age: 18 Charges: Attempted Robbery 2nd Degree Conspiracy 2nd Degree Offensive Touching

Sex Offender Arrested for Failure to Re-Register Address

Incident #: 50-14-12040      Date/Time:  Thursday, July 10th, 2014 at 12:00PM

Location: King’s Cliff MHP, Dover, Delaware

Narrative:
DeShaun Harris (29), has been arrested by the US Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force after failing to re-register his address.  Harris was unable to be found by local authorities and was arrested on Thursday, July 10th at approximately 12:00PM in the King’s Cliff Mobile Home Park, located off of South Bay Road in Dover.  Harris also had numerous capias’ for his arrest from various courts.  Harris was arraigned at Justice of the Peace Court 7 and is being held at James T. Vaugn Correctional Center in lieu of $7,400.00 secured bond.

DeShaun Harris Age: 29 Charge: Failure to Re-Register Address
DeShaun Harris
Age: 29
Charge: Failure to Re-Register Address

Dover Police To Begin Weekly Shoplifter Notifications

Overview:                                                                                                                                       Since 2011, the Dover Police Department has investigated 2,773 shoplifting cases, averaging 2.5 per day. In an effort to help reduce the amount of shoplifting cases, the department will begin a weekly notification displaying the names and booking photos of those arrested. The goal of the notifications is to notify Dover merchants of offenders in hopes of being able to reduce the number of shoplifting cases. The majority of shoplifting cases are committed by repeat offenders and the department’s goal is that by releasing the information, store employees will be better informed when monitoring their stores and inventory, and suspects will think twice before stealing merchandise in fear that their name and photo will be shared with the public.
By The Numbers:
It is a common misconception that shoplifting only affects the business that was stolen from and is a petty crime. This idea could not be further from the truth. In the United States, more than $13 billion in merchandise is stolen every year; that’s more than $5 million per day. The costs of the loss and the stores increased security measures get passed on to consumers, directly affecting the incomes of honest people.
In Dover, there have been 2,773 shoplifting cases reported to the police in the last 3 years, with 920 of those coming in 2013. Some studies have shown that shoplifters are only caught 1 in 48 times. Combine those numbers with the incidents not reported to police and it’s clear that shoplifting has become a consistent problem in the City of Dover. Department’s using similar shoplifting arrest notifications have seen cases drop as much as 10% in the 1st year of the program. The feedback from merchants and the public in those respective jurisdictions has been very positive and the results can be directly tied to the notification program.
The Drug Problem:
It is the belief of the Dover Police Department that a large amount of shoplifting cases can be connected to illegal drugs. Many shoplifters are stealing goods because they have spent their income on illegal narcotics or are selling/trading the stolen goods to purchase illegal drugs. By declining the number of shopliftings and displaying the suspects, the department hopes that it will also have an effect on illegal drug activity in the City of Dover.

 

The Notifications:
The department will release a photo similar to the one below on a weekly basis. This photo will be posted on the department’s website (www.doverpolice.org) and social media outlets as with all other press releases. In fact, the image is essentially another form of a traditional press release. As with any arrest, shoplifting arrests and booking photos are public information and the defendants should be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

shoplift post sample

 

Who Gets Posted?
In short, ANYONE who is 18 and over will be posted. Regardless of the dollar amount, store, or reasoning, every adult shoplifting suspect arrested will have their photo and name released. Juveniles WILL NOT have their information or photos released.

 

Goals of the Program:
1-The primary goal of the program is to reduce the amount of shoplifting cases in the City of Dover.
2-To notify Dover merchants of shoplifting suspects so they can more efficiently monitor their store and inventory from the intelligence they will now receive. Merchants will now be able to know what stores a suspect has stolen from, providing the ability for merchants to share information with each other in an effort to reduce loss.
3-Lessen the ability of suspects to sell/trade stolen goods for illegal drugs or money. By sharing this information, merchants, pawn shops, secondary markets (auctions/flea markets/online classifieds), and the general public will be aware of the possibility that items they purchase may have been stolen.
4-Prevent the growing price of goods directly affected by the loss a merchant incurs from shoplifting. These costs are frequently passed on to the honest consumers.
5-Identify suspects in other criminal cases. Many times, shoplifting suspects are involved in other illegal activities. By sharing their booking photo and names, it is possible that they can be identified as suspects in other cases by other law enforcement agencies, merchants, and the general public.
6- Lessen the amount of time officers spend on these complaints to focus their patrol efforts in other areas and on other crimes.

The 1st release of shoplifting suspects will begin in the month of August. The department will provide announcements through their website and social media outlets ahead of the 1st release in order to give suspects fair warning of the new program.

-Cpl. Mark Hoffman, Public Information Officer