As consumers flood the retail stores up and down the Route 28 strip for the start of the holiday season, law enforcement officials have seen a surge in shoplifting and shopping-related crime.

Salem police got reports of two stolen purses, one with $900 in cash taken from a shopping cart at Kmart and the second stolen from a Marshall’s on Nov. 14, bringing the number of purse-snatchings up to about a half dozen since the previous week.

According to Salem police Capt. Shawn Patten, that number is roughly equal to the number of reports of stolen purses the department receives during the entirety of the non-holiday seasons of the year.

“It happens every year, but probably a little more so this year,” said Capt. Shawn Patten. “Every year in Salem, due to the tax-free shopping and the amount of retail facilities, we see a drastic surge in the amount of the shoppers and traffic in town and therefore equally more opportunities for criminals to steal and more people shoplifting.”

While the bigger stores report more of the shopping-related crime, from purse-snatching to shoplifting, Patten said the crimes could and do happen at any shopping spot in town.

“It’s in every store,” he said. “From Wal-Mart to Kohls to Target to the stores inside the (Mall at Rockingham Park). Criminals don’t have much discretion on where they’re stealing from.”

At American Eagle Outfitters inside the Mall at Rockingham Park, a store that turns shoplifters over to the mall security rather than pressing charges themselves, manager Catherine Nies said it was hard to track how much merchandise is stolen during the holiday months.

“We really don’t know and we won’t know of our inventory shrink level until afterwards, but the mall in general knows that it has increased and we’ve talked to the police about it increasing,” Nies said. “We don’t have cameras. We work with our customer service on making sure that they’re (getting assistance) and hopefully they’ll turn into buyers instead of takers.”

Salem police recently arrested Jose Luis Ofarril, an 18-year-old Massachusetts man after he allegedly stole $418 worth of merchandise, including 12 items of clothing from American Eagle, before fleeing the mall in a taxi. Nies said most shoplifters try to take jewelry, boxers or small accessories, items easier to pocket without detection.

Patten described shoplifting as a “steady” problem in Salem, but the numbers spike as the holiday season approaches each year. Working with stores that have cameras or a surveillance system, Patten said the chances of solving a shoplifting or shopping- related crime are greater.

“We work with loss prevention and we try and give them information, and they share information about crime trends that are hitting their stores and stuff they’ve noticed and we put additional people on purely for the call volume,” he said. “Sometimes you get lucky and you’re in the right place at the right time as far as grabbing people with purses.”

Police recommend that consumers keep their wallets and their valuables inside their pockets which would prevent a shopper from losing everything in the event of a stolen handbag or purse. For consumers dropping purchased merchandise off in their vehicle before returning for more shopping, Patten recommended they place those articles in their trunk rather than the back seat.