A jump in heroin addiction, the bad economy and an aggressive effort by stores to catch shoplifters combined to boost the number of retail theft arrests in Granite City last year.

The number of shoplifting arrests increased to 204 in 2011 from 133 in 2010, according to Granite City police.

At the city's Walmart, at 379 W. Pontoon Road, arrests for retail theft nearly doubled, to 93 from 49 in 2010. At Kmart, 3655 Nameoki Road, the number increased to 45 in 2011 from 34 in 2010.

Granite City Assistant Police Chief Jeff Connor said a big reason for the increase is a more aggressive effort by stores to catch shoplifters.

"If there's an increase in retail theft arrests, it's because the stores are being more proactive in policing their own stores," Connor said.

The local Walmart store used a recent remodeling to improve its surveillance, for example. "As we expanded our store size, we also expanded our resources," said Walmart spokesman Dianna Gee.

Among the additions were more security cameras. "Given the capabilities of our technology, people should really think twice about doing something wrong because there's a good chance it's going to be caught on camera," Gee said.

Meanwhile, Walmart employees, called "asset protection associates," walk the aisles to catch people in the act.

"This is something we take very seriously," Gee said. "If we stop shoplifters at our stores, those individuals may be less likely to commit crimes at other businesses,"

A spokeswoman for Kmart declined to comment for this story.

Smaller retailers in town also said they were taking steps to cut shoplifting, even while they generally said they didn't think it's a serious problems

At B&L Variety Store, 2881 Madison Ave., owners George and Linda Evans installed a security camera when they opened the business in 2006. But a key part of surveillance is their eyes.

"We watch especially the younger people really close," George Evans said.

The store sells leather goods, belt buckles, fishing equipment, knives and other items. Much of it is kept in glass cabinets, especially the knives.

That helps cut the shoplifting, Linda Evans said. "Any time you've got pocket-sized items, they need to be under glass," she said.

At BEC Office Products, 2930 Madison Ave., president Larry Mangi doesn't see a serious problem; he hasn't had any shoplifting incidents in the last year.

"We've installed cameras, but quite frankly, so far so good," Mangi said.

But Mangi acknowledged there are reasons why people might shoplift. "I think the economy drives people to do more desperate things," he said.

But Madison County State's Attorney Tom Gibbons sees another reason in the epidemic of heroin use.

"There's a lot of theft of items that can be pawned or sold or traded for drugs," Gibbons said. "That cost is going to be passed along at some point."

Contact reporter Jim Merkel at 618-344-0264, ext. 138