Buckland Hills Target Has Become ... A Target For Thieves: Police

MANCHESTER/SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — The Target store in the Buckland Hills retail district has become, well, a Target for Thieves, police records indicate.

The store is mostly associated with being in Manchester, but parts of the plaza also sit in South Windsor and the geographic quirk puts law enforcement jurisdiction with the SWPD.

The local blotter is regularly riddled with calls about Target.

Over the past 12 months (June 24, 2025 to June 24, 2026), police have responded to 146 "larceny" calls, along with 38 "suspicious" activity calls and a robbery call.

And the calls vary.

For example, on June 23 just before 10 p.m., the SWPD arrested a 27-year-old Ledyard man on an active warrant related to a March theft of $73.28 worth of merchandise from
Target, according to police records.

On June 3 at 6:13 p.m., officers went to Target for a shoplifter in custody. A 39-year-old man from East Windsor was caught taking $86.47 worth of merchandise,. according to police records.

On April 23 a 20-year-old surrendered on a warrant connected to a theft of $417.85 worth of merchandise a month earlier, police records show.

On April 2, SWPD arrested a 20-year-old Storrs woman and a 21-year-old Willington man after they were stopped by Target-loss-prevention staffers.

Last Halloween, SWPD arrested a Rocky Hill couple, aged 42 and 44 who had been trespassed from the property, returned in an attempt to take approximately $1,200 worth of merchandise, but noticed Target loss-prevention personnel at the front of the store and left the items inside before fleeing, police records show.

On Nov. 1, the SWPD arrested a 45-year-old Newington man on three active arrest warrants connected to three separate larcenies in August and September 2025
at Target, police records show.

SWPD Spokesman Lt. Mark Cleverdon said Target Loss Prevention is often involved and will often call the police and report thefts under two circumstances:

• Active Theft – When a loss prevention employee is actively observing a theft occur in real time via their camera system. They will contact us immediately and provide us with updates on the persons whereabouts in the store. On some occasions, they will make contact with the suspects and if they are cooperative, they will escort them to the office area and await our arrival. If they don’t make contact or the person isn’t cooperative, we will attempt and locate them before they leave the scene. If they do leave we’ll get information from Target and pursue an arrest warrant if an ID is made.
• Late Reported – Sometimes Target will review camera footage at a later date and notice a theft. If that’s the case, they will contact us and provide us with any evidence they have and any information they may have regarding the suspect. Most of these cases are involving shoplifters already known to Target through thefts at their other stores or previous thefts at the SW store.

Cleverdon said he would not classify any of the thefts police see at Target as "organized retail theft."

"Most of them are local suspects who happen to be known or are repeat shoplifters," he said.