Economic Woes Drive Up Theft–of Detergent

When the economy gets tough, police note certain crimes tend to increase.  One, however, is rather surprising.

Police across the country are seeing a sharp increase in the theft of Tide detergent, especially the liquid form.   It has gotten so bad some cities are setting up special units to pursue the thefts, and stores such as CVS are putting it behind counters to prevent it from being stolen.   Police are not completely sure why it's seemingly just Tide experiencing the increase, but say it stretches across all socio-economic classes. 

  According to a report from Fox News, depending upon the size, Tide tends to run between $10-$20 dollars a bottle.  On the black market (if there is one for detergent) it can go for $5 to $10. Some brazen theives even turn around and resell it to stores, posing as wholesalers!   In St. Paul Minnesota, police finally caught one theif who had set up an organized ring, and had taken nearly $15,000 worth of the soap over a 15 month period.   One thing the officials all agree upon though--prior to the economic woes the nation is facing the last couple of years,  this was not an issue.