Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan joined a regular meeting between Watertown Police and security from local stores to find ways to curb the amount of shoplifting in town, and to prevent incidents from becoming more serious.
Since 2022, the number of shopliftings in the City has steadily risen, with the vast majority occurring at the Watertown Mall and Arsenal Yards. In 2022, the WPD responded to around 400 shoplifting incidents, and in 2024 the number rose to 774, according to statistics collected by Watertown Police. So far in 2025 there have been 566 calls.
Ryan said it also impacts other communities in Middlesex County…