Long Island stores brace for holiday shoplifting surge

'Tis the season for swiping goods, retailers say.

During the holiday season, would-be thieves ramp up their activities at Costello’s Ace Hardware, where expensive power tools, plumbing accessories and other items are targeted for theft, said George Castro, who manages the Farmingdale store for the Deer Park-based chain.

But a few years ago, the hardware chain rolled out more anti-theft measures in its 62 stores, including 25 on Long Island, such as locking power tools in clear cases, putting packaged drill bits and other small accessories on racks behind magnetized locks and replacing surveillance systems with more advanced models that store videos longer and connect to high-definition cameras.

A sensor system detects customers who are in the stores' sections with Milwaukee brand power