Shoplifting has risen but you cannot look at year-on-year changes because shoplifting decreased during the pandemic. But lawmakers still passed a bill that would solve the problem.
Lawmakers Pass A Bill To Deal With An Alleged Shoplifting Epidemic (Photo: Policing Insight)
The Shoplifting Epidemic increased online shopping which now makes it easier to fence items
The estimate is that 10% of goods sold online are from shoplifting. Stores have restructured and put tempting items near exits. Clerks no longer stand between the item and the door as they have been replaced with DIY stations.
“Anxiety over shoplifting is an enduring phenomenon and is often a stand-in for larger concerns of cultural, economic or political changes, a story from CNN quotes articles from the 1990s.
Shoplifting will cause panic to whip up concerns about law and order, urban decline, and keeping minorities in their place or prison.
Legislators are seeking to reverse criminal justice reforms and mandate cash bail when shoplifting is committed
Retailers claim “shrink” increased but that also includes employee theft, damaged products, administrative errors, vendor fraud, and other factors.
Retailers also cry “organized retail crime” but a Council on Criminal Justice analysis of shoplifting reports found that more than 95% of shoplifting is done by more than one person.
