Shoplifting & Larceny Surge - Is Bail Reform to Blame?
Scourge of shoplifting plays new role in debate over bail changes

New data helps explain complicated picture of retail theft across New York

After a local man was arrested 22 times last year for shoplifting, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple went public with his concerns. “I know everybody is sick of hearing about bail reform, but this goes hand and glove with it,” Apple said Thursday following a news conference at Colonie Center — where the Macy’s store at the north end was the site of many of the 22 alleged thefts — to push for legislation that would make it easier for judges to hold repeat shoplifters in jail while they await trial.

Apple’s comments came nearly five years after the Democratic-controlled state Legislature retooled the state’s bail and pretrial discovery laws as part of an effort to reduce systemic poverty and potential injustices that can result from excessive incarceration. But the latest attempt to rethink — or perhaps re-rethink — the state’s controversial and often politicized bail laws comes at a delicate moment.

The latest six-month packet of state data on the issue shows judges are, more than in preceding years, setting bail or remanding to jail individuals awaiting trial on one crime who are then arrested for shoplifting.

But those changes are modest and reflect substantial differences by county, suggesting judges or prosecutors may be interpreting the extent of their discretion in different ways.

It also comes as instances of shoplifting or petit larceny remain at or near historic levels, a fact that weighs heavily on the minds of New Yorkers as they navigate pharmacies and department stores where household goods are often locked behind glass.

Hochul is calling for task forces and special crime units to address organized retail theft, while also adding laws that would make it easier for district attorneys to prosecute shoplifting rings and assaults on retail workers. timesunion.com


Chicago's Retail Crime Task Force Seeing Results
$3.8M Recovered in 2 Years - But More Work to Be Done

CPD uses task force to push back in battle against brazen retail burglaries

Organized Retail Crime Task Force has so far recovered $3.8 million worth of merchandise stolen from retailers

The small team of Chicago police officers has kept busy over the last two years. Formed in late 2021 in response to an ongoing spate of smash-and-grab burglaries, CPD’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force has so far recovered $3.8 million worth of merchandise stolen from retailers in and around the city, according to the department.

Sgt. Ryan Delaney, who heads the task force of fewer than a dozen officers, said the group’s long-term investigation has focused largely on illegal fencing operations — the resale of ill-gotten goods.

In the 24 months since the task force was formed, the investigation has led officers throughout the city and suburbs, even crossing state lines. So far, 180 open cases have resulted in an arrest, Delaney added.

Smash-and-grab burglaries remain relatively common despite the dozens of arrests netted by the task force. One burglary attempt last month, also in the Gold Coast, led to a shootout between police and the alleged suspects.

Aside from forming the task force, CPD has tried other tactics in recent years to tamp down the theft and violence seen in the downtown area since the summer of 2020, when widespread looting broke out across the city in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer.

More than 7,400 burglaries were reported citywide in 2023, a 2% decrease from 2022, according to CPD data. chicagotribune.com


Will Retail Theft Become a Major Presidential Campaign Issue?
Democrats want to stop retail theft crisis to boost crime claims ahead of election
Democrats are banking on solutions for shoplifting, a type of crime plaguing cities and growing in popularity, as a way to take away the Republicans' winning platform on public safety and criminal justice this election season.

Retail theft is gradually becoming a serious problem in many Democratic-run areas, particularly in California, New York, and Washington, D.C., to name a few. Democratic leaders, who have struggled to run a platform on curbing crime while working toward comprehensive criminal justice reform, believe a solution to retail theft could be the key to rallying voters in the 2024 election.

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) is looking to toughen up criminal penalties for shoplifting and to allocate additional funding for preventive measures in her $233 billion budget. The governor is looking to create new police teams focused on the matter, as well as offering a tax credit for businesses to help bolster their security systems.

“I think this is really smart politics from the governor,” Democratic consultant Alyssa Cass said in an interview with Politico. “It’s taking away a big talking point for Republicans. They talk about this retail stuff all the time.”

In Washington, the Council of the District of Columbia is considering the Secure D.C. omnibus bill, which would lower the threshold of a felony for retail theft from $1,000 worth of merchandise to $500, among other provisions.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced a crime bill addressing retail theft earlier this month. California prosecutors and business leaders have long criticized the state's Proposition 47, which classifies nonviolent property crimes that do not exceed $950 in value as misdemeanors, as "toothless" and to blame for the rise in shoplifting and other thefts. gazette.com


Theft Impact: Self-Checkouts Turning into '10 Items Only' Lanes
A grocery store chain is limiting how many items you can buy at its self-checkouts as concerns over theft mount

Schnucks customers soon won't be able to buy more than 10 items at its self-checkout.

Midwest grocery store chain Schnucks is putting a cap on how many items customers can buy at its self-checkout. From Thursday, self-checkout lanes in all Schnucks stores will be limited to customers buying 10 items or fewer, the retailer confirmed to Business Insider. Customers with more than 10 items will be redirected to its staffed checkout lanes, it said.

"While the primary intention is to improve customer service and checkout efficiency, we do expect there to be some benefits to stopping theft," Schnucks said in a statement. "Because self-checkouts are more susceptible to theft, this item limit will help us maintain our costs while keeping the prices lower for our customers."

Schnucks operates 115 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. It told BI that all its stores had self-checkouts, with between four and eight on average at each location.

Retailers across the US are rethinking their self-checkout strategies as companies fear that they're facilitating theft.

In some cases the shrink, as it's known in the industry, is intentional — customers deliberately don't scan some items or put them through as lower-cost products — while sometimes it happens by accident. businessinsider.com


Will Brick & Mortar Anti-Theft Measures Send Shoppers Fleeing to Amazon?
Walmart customer slams store policy: ‘pretty soon Amazon will have no competition'
Customers have blasted Walmart for their new anti-theft policies in store, with chain store looking to curb its $100 billion shoplifting disaster. One measure it has taken is to lock certain items behind protective screens.

There are similar policies in place in Target and one social media user uploaded this video to X, showcasing the huge amount of items that are now locked away. The video focuses on the personal hygiene aisle of the store, showing that toothpaste was locked behind the secure, plexiglass screens.

Replying to Melissa Jean's post, other social media users vented their anger at these anti-shoplifting measures, both in Target and in other stores. One frustrated customer warned the chain stores that these policies would drive shoppers away and see them instead do their shopping online.

"Walmart had socks locked up the other day. $12.00 bundles of socks. Pretty soon Amazon is going to have no competition," the social media user wrote.

There has been a "historic high" in theft across Walmart stores, according to the chain's President and CEO Doug McMillon. “Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” he told CNBC. irishstar.com


Store Shooting Prompts New Body Cam Bill in PA
PA lawmaker urges passage of body camera resolution following Fairhill corner store shooting
State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., said it’s imperative the House pass legislation (H.R. 113) that would study and bring accountability to the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement, following the Tuesday release of surveillance footage of the shooting death of Alexander Spencer.

“The people of the commonwealth deserve accountability from law enforcement, and body-worn cameras are vital to the protection of both civilians and officers,” Rabb said. “Pennsylvania deserves to know how body cameras are being used by our law enforcement agencies across the state, which departments are utilizing body-worn cameras, and how we can continue to support the individuals that have sworn to protect and serve us.”

The resolution would direct the Joint State Government Commission to study how body-worn camera footage is currently used and stored in this Commonwealth and require the commission to prepare a report assessing the cost of filming, storing and reviewing complete body-worn camera footage, provide recommendations on how to ensure that footage is used for the justice of all and shielded from cyber threats, and establish an advisory committee comprising individuals who have expertise and experience fields, positions and situations relating to criminal justice, cyber security, ethics and law enforcement.  pahouse.com


A ‘crackdown' is underway to halt organized retail theft in Los Angeles

Trial date set for white supremacist who targeted Black shoppers at Buffalo store