Shoplifting in on the rise across the nation. Last year, retailers in New York alone lost over $4 billion to retail theft. What’s being done, and what can be done?

From New York Post. Retailers across New York state say there’s no end in sight to the rising epidemic of organized shoplifting rings — and warn it could lead to more store closures, increased costs for consumers and threats of violence against store employees.

View Comments (6)

Do you want state prayer alerts?

Store owners said they lost $4.4 billion last year as a result of retail theft — which they say adds to the urgency for Gov. Kathy Hochul to crack down.

However, Hochul vetoed a bipartisan bill last week — to the chagrin of store owners — that would have created a task force to combat organized theft.

Hochul rejected a proposal that would have created a 15-member panel made up of experts appointed by the governor, Legislature and the state attorney general that would have put together a list of recommendations to respond to retail theft. …

A spokesperson for Hochul said that adopting the proposal would have cost the state $35 million — an expenditure that wasn’t allotted in the most recent budget.

Law enforcement officials from New York City to Albany to Syracuse have reported increases in incidents of retail theft — blaming the spike on progressive prosecutors who encourages criminal behavior with lenient punishment for shoplifters.

Last month, the chief of police in Syracuse said that the city has seen a 55% spike in shoplifting since 2021 — and that’s a conservative estimate.

“That number is likely higher because businesses often don’t report it — but they do continue to express concerns,” Syracuse Police Chief Joe Cecile said.

Cecile warned that small businesses are “having trouble sustaining themselves” in the face of the shoplifting campaign. …

“Retail theft at convenience stores throughout the state is not as organized as at some other retailers but is as dangerous and impactful,” Kent Sopris, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores, told The Post. …

Sopris said that convenience store clerks are “at extreme risk.” …

As of Nov. 19, Albany police have arrested nearly 2,300 people for larceny and nearly 340 people have been accused of motor vehicle theft.

That’s well above the five-year average of 2,057 arrests for larceny and 281 for motor vehicle theft. …

Organized theft isn’t limited to upstate New York.

The Big Apple saw a 64% increase in reported incidents of retail theft during the four-year period between mid-2019 and June of this year, according to the Council on Criminal Justice. …

Share your prayers and scriptures about this trend of lawlessness.

(Excerpt from New York Post. Photo Credit: AndreyPopov/Getty Images)