They weren’t there for the cheap futons.
The Red Hook IKEA was plagued by a rash of thefts while shoppers roamed the Swedish furniture store’s aisles, but cops have slashed the thefts almost to zero through innovative police work.
The thieves spent last winter and early spring preying on careless customers who left bags and designer goods unattended in the store and parking lot.
The 76th Precinct cops responded to the spree by beefing up their presence at the store and expanding a successful program called “Operation Spot It to Secure It,” cops said at a recent 76th precinct community-council meeting.
Officers snapped pictures of valuable items left behind in the vehicles and mailed letters to the owners asking them to secure their property.
Community-affairs cops, a crime-prevention officer, and an auxiliary officer worked in tandem in 10 operations. The cops found iPhones and iPads in plain sight in the cars — and one even had a flat-screen TV. Another driver left a Louis Vuitton bag near the window.
Several drivers also left their keys in the ignition.
The extra police presence at IKEA has brought crime down to virtually zero at the location, which averages 2 million customers a month, cops said at the meeting.
The same program successfully brought down burglaries to record lows in Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill this year.
Cops there also sent letters to residents in brownstones where doors were left unlocked and open, often with packages in hallways.
More than 35 of these operations have been done this year, and 86 letters have been sent out to drivers.
“This program works,” said Inspector Jeffrey Schiff at the meeting. “We’ve been out there, we’ve been looking, and it’s been very successful.”
IKEA has also been working closely with the NYPD, and plans to install more security cameras in its showrooms and add security guards.
It also plans to work with the NYPD to have customers register their cellphones with the police while standing on shopping lines.