Midland Police to Add 'Cop in a Shop' Initiative to Discourage Shoplifters

MIDLAND, TX - Midland Police Department (MPD) will place undercover officers in multiple convenience stores across the city to combat a recent upward trend in robberies in Midland. The partnership between MPD and local convenience stores, dubbed “Cop in a Shop”, is set to begin immediately.

Officers will pose as employees of the stores in order to prevent crime and catch criminals before they can run from the scene.

"The Midland Police Department is always looking for innovative ways to minimize crime in our community,” Chief Price Robinson said. “After analyzing data and working with our local business owners, we see this as an opportunity to work together to bring down the number of robberies we’ve seen recently.”

MPD reported an average of 7.75 robberies per month in 2016, an increase from the average of 5 per month in 2015. Previous to 2016, Midland saw an overall decrease of about 35 percent in the number of robberies between 2008 and 2015.