Bowling Green is bucking a national trend of more shoplifting cases.

During 2008, there were 41 shoplifting arrests from the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas, compared to 53 in 2007 during the same period, said Officer Barry Pruitt, spokesman for the Bowling Green Police Department.

“Thanksgiving came later this year, but when it’s broken down into the number of shoplifting incidents per days, there were an average of 1.5 incidents per day last year compared to 1.4 incidents per day this year,” he said.

The holiday shopping season is typically the busiest of the year for shoplifting arrests, Pruitt said. Lower numbers this year are surprising, he said.

There have been more such arrests at grocers, Pruitt said, but there hasn’t been an increase in the number of shoplifting cases – just more people actually getting caught, a trend Pruitt attributes to more grocers having loss prevention programs in place.

It’s probably not surprising that, in a spiraling economy, news outlets are reporting an upswing in shoplifting. Those reports cite a survey from the Retail Industry Leaders Association that found 84 percent of retailers surveyed had experienced an increase in amateur shoplifting and 80 reported an increase in organized retail crime.

“The current uptick in unlawful activity is an unfortunate, yet unsurprising consequence of an economy in distress,” said Paul Jones, vice president of asset protection for RILA, in a news release.

The survey also showed that rural areas, where typically there is not an increase in shoplifting during bad economic times, have seen a jump in such crimes. Normally, urban areas are the first to show increases in shoplifting.

The increase in organized retail crime could become a long-term issue, according to the release. Organized crime rings steal and stockpile merchandise, then sell it online or through flea markets, swap meets or pawn shops.

“Organized retail criminals are ramping up their activity. The resulting ability to fund additional crimes should be a concern to everyone,” Jones said.

Capt. Kent Keen of the Glasgow Police Department said the department has not seen an increase in shoplifting arrests during the holiday season – there were 11 in Glasgow from Nov. 28 through Christmas, he said, which is typical.

“We’ve had a few, but that’s the case in any month. We have a few in June, too,” he said.

Franklin also does not appear to have an increased number of shoplifting incidents. Statistics provided by the department show five shoplifting incidents in October of this year, and only one in November. December statistics for the department are not yet available, Lt. Art McFadden said.