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Milwaukee drug store diaper thieves
Milwaukee drug store employees say two women are loading up a cart full of diapers and walking right out the front door, and this isn't a one-time thing.
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee drug store employees say two women are loading up a cart full of diapers and walking right out the front door, and this isn't a one-time thing.
"This has to stop," said a former security guard.
If you’ve gone to some of the drug stores on Milwaukee’s north side, there’s one item that tends to be missing from the shelves.
"They come in and go to the diapers, grab all the diapers, put them in the shopping cart, load them and leave," said the former guard.
FOX6 spoke with a former security guard for the CVS off Perkins Place.
He said the women are referred to by store employees as "The Diaper Girls."
"They got a tote, loading products into the car, diapers, men and women's cologne, body washes, stuff like that, and then they pull right off," he said.
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FOX6 News obtained cellphone video from a former Walgreens employee at 91st and Good Hope.
Citing corporate policies, Walgreens and CVS employees would not talk with FOX6 on camera.
All the managers said these women come into their stores and steal diapers, baby formula, wet wipes and other supplies.
Some store managers said they come in daily.
"The managers are so fed up," said the former security guard.
Employees said the companies have put in extra security measures like cameras and even security guards, but that hasn't helped.
"The managers don’t even call the police anymore because they’re not going to respond right away," said the former security guard.
Milwaukee police said they were not able to get us specific security footage of these crimes. What they did share was the number of times they were called to these locations for shoplifting and thefts.
In the past four years, police were called to the CVS off Perkins 88 times, the Walgreens off Teutonia, 93 times, the Walgreens off Hampton 52 times, the Walgreens off North 76th 32 times and the Walgreens off 91st 56 times.
It's hard to tell how many of the calls can be attributed to the diaper thieves, but store employees say the women are re-selling the products online.
"You come to work every day, and you want to earn a living doing what's right, and you have people coming in here and feel that they can take advantage," said the former security guard.
If you know these women or have any information on these thefts, give police a call or stay anonymous through Crime Stoppers.