El Cerrito Police examined robbery trends from the first half of 2016 and compared them to the first half of 2017. Police department staff recognized an increase from 36 robberies in the first half of 2016 to 45 robberies in the first half of 2017. A closer look at the numbers reveals a less obvious trend, however. Shoplifting-related robberies are crimes in which a thief threatens or assaults a store employee during the commission of a theft. These robberies account for a significant amount of overall robberies and are responsible for almost all of the increase year-over-year. In 2016, 13 of the 36 robberies involved shoplifting. In 2017, 21 of the 45 robberies involved shoplifting offenses. Investigating officers believe that many shoplifters are using the BART system to travel to El Cerrito stores. In August, the Special Operations unit will be partnering with the Richmond Police Department to explore the connection between our local BART stations and theft-related crime in our city.