AURORA | The Aurora police are rolling out a new program to connect with business owners and help them reduce crime, like shoplifting and disorderly conduct.
Police launched the Business Shield Initiative earlier this month and have so far visited about 350 businesses across the city to build relationships and share tips about how stores can prevent crime.
Aurora Police Capt. Marc Sears said officers started by contacting businesses in what they say are crime hot spots, like busy shopping centers, and connecting them with police contacts, suggesting physical changes to improve safety and linking them to city resources.
“The police department is recognizing that we have to create partnerships with our businesses to really get ahead of potential crimes that are occurring in the area,” Sears said. “So our Police Area Representatives go out and meet with businesses and provide information about how we can combat some crimes.”
When officers evaluate businesses for safety, they analyze things like lighting, landscaping, security cameras and visibility, Sears said, adding that a common tip so far is encouraging shops to not block their windows with advertisements or displays.
“When they cover the windows, it takes away the observation ability when we are coming on scene … and it takes away the ability for citizens to see what’s going on,” Sears said. “There’s a lot of little tips businesses should know.”
Sears said the goal of the initiative is to drastically reduce criminal activity around business areas.
In the first half of the year, property crime dropped 11% compared to 2025, with robbery down 2.5%, while larceny dropped slightly by .15%. Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said in July that larceny, which includes shoplifting, remains a challenge for the police department and working with local businesses would be crucial.
The initiative will work in conjunction with the department’s retail theft team, which targets shoplifting at larger retail stores.
In addition to assessing physical security, part of the initiative focuses on building relationships and encouraging people to report issues, Sears said. The Aurora Police Department set a goal of increasing business contacts by 20% this year in an effort to educate more people about safety resources.
“(Officers) aren’t just dropping off flyers, they are engaging with the community,” Sears said. “Businesses aren’t going to know about it unless we educate them, so we have to take the responsibility to be proactive.”
For Colin Sweet, assistant manager at Play It Again Sports, the program has already benefitted his store.
The sporting goods retailer also buys used equipment and has had issues with people reselling stolen goods, Sweet said. Through the Business Shield Initiative, Sweet’s employees received advice on how to spot red flags for stolen merchandise and implemented an ID requirement and fingerprint scan, similar to pawn shops.
“Some of the suggestions from APD have already started to work to prevent those things and we’ve seen a big decrease in the amount of stolen items coming through our doors,” Sweet said. “The program is a way that we can be proactive without necessarily having officers here all the time to prevent those kinds of things.”
Though, Sweet also said the increased police presence at the shopping center is appreciated.
“I think this is a great thing for not just the big box stores, but the smaller businesses that oftentimes don’t get the same attention, because having that connection to the community is awesome and we can only benefit,” Sweet said. “We don’t have big insurance plans for theft, so when things are stolen from our store, it hurts us directly.”
Aurora police are continuing to contact businesses about the initiative, Sears said, but any interested business can also reach out to the Police Area Representatives to learn more.