Yonkers police say three people have been arrested, just one day after they announced an initiative to combat shoplifting. 

Yonkers Police Commissioner Chris Sapienza and Mayor Mike Spano announced a new initiative to combat a rise in shoplifting Thursday - and just a few miles away, police were responding to a shoplifting call at Dick's Sporting Goods in the Ridge Hill Shopping Center.

"The fact that it happened during our press conference yesterday shows you the prevalence of this crime," says Sapienza. 

Sapienza says because officers are now stationed at shopping centers throughout the city, two of the three suspects were caught.

"The fact that we were able to apprehend the suspects shows you that our strategies are working," says Sapienza. 

On Friday morning, police arrested another suspected shoplifter at a ShopRite, just a block from police headquarters.

Police say the woman was stealing bottles of Ensure and turned violent, slapping a clerk as she exited the building.

Sapienza says a majority of these crimes are being committed by people who don't live in the city.

Police found that the two suspects arrested at Dick's have lengthy criminal histories. Both men have a combined 58 arrests on their records, and both have been arrested within the last two months for grand larceny and robbery.

Some point to bail reform for allowing repeat offenders to be able to continue crime sprees like shoplifting, but Yonkers police say they are stepping up their presence to put shoplifters on notice.