Authorities in New York City (NYC) arrested 327 people a combined 6,000 times for shoplifting in 2022, accounting for more than a third of arrests for the said crime.
The New York Times reported about the issue on April 15, citing remarks by NYC Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell. According to the commissioner, "some engage in shoplifting as a trade, while others are driven by addiction or mental illness." The police did not identify the 327 people, the Times added.
Citing a new analysis of police data by researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the Gray Lady reported that the theft of items valued at less than $1,000 at major commercial locations has increased by 53 percent since 2019. It added that shoplifting complaints nearly doubled over the past five years – peaking at almost 64,000 in 2022. Only about 34 percent of shoplifting complaints resulted in arrests last year, compared with 60 percent in 2017.
Breitbart's John Nolte put in his two cents on the issue in an April 17 op-ed. Taking the numbers as reported, he pointed out that 327 people were arrested an average of 18 times for shoplifting. However, Nolte lamented that the arrests "mean nothing" as they represent the number of times the culprits were caught.
"Imagine how many times they shoplifted without being caught. Imagine how secure they feel shoplifting knowing that even if they are caught, there is no penalty other than the inconvenience of walking through the revolving door."
Nolte then challenged authorities in the Big Apple to put the 327 suspects in jail "to decrease shoplifting … dramatically." But the Breitbart senior writer ultimately remarked that NYC wouldn't, "because George Soros does not want them to."
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He ultimately pointed his finger at the Hungarian globalist billionaire and the Democrat district attorneys he bankrolls – including Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg – for decriminalizing shoplifting. (Related: RIGGED: George Soros funded Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's campaign with $1 million as he pledged to jail Trump.)
Shoplifting also out of control in California
The problem is not only limited to the East Coast. A California DA also warned that soft-on-crime policies that guaranteed zero consequences for culprits contributed to out-of-control shoplifting.
During his appearance on EpochTV's "California Insider," El Dorado County DA Vern Pierson zeroed in on "criminal justice reform" laws passed at the state level. One such law is Proposition 47, which voters in the Golden State passed in 2014.
Proposition 47 downgraded certain thefts and drug offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. It also permitted currently imprisoned felons to petition for re-sentencing under the new classifications. Those who have already served their prison terms can also have their past convictions reclassified as misdemeanors.
Its most well-known statute raised the minimum amount of stolen goods for a felony classification from $400 to $950. This statute, critics argued, was the main cause of a sudden increase in petty theft across California.
"The practical reality is that most retailers have learned if they call law enforcement for a theft of less than $950, [police officers] will not respond," remarked Pierson. "If they respond at most, what they will do is issue a citation [for court appearance]." The DA added that most theft suspects do not show up in court as there are little to no consequences.
Because of this, most businesses in the Golden State have a policy that prevents employees from reporting low-level property crimes. Some stores completely stopped reporting petty theft altogether as the police can't do much, Pierson said.
To make things worse, Proposition 47 empowered robbery suspects to sue establishments if store employees physically confront suspects while in the act. The DA lamented: "We're a very litigious society here in California. The stores and their insurance carriers really are afraid of being sued for trying to stop a crime that has little to no consequence."
Visit Anarchy.news for more stories about out-of-control shoplifting and theft in blue areas.
Watch El Dorado County DA Vern Pierson's full interview on "California Insider" below, where he expounds on the Golden State's shoplifting problem.
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More related stories:
Robbing spree: Organized criminal elements hitting California luxury retailers.
California DA: SHOPLIFTING in the Golden State is out of control, soft-on-crime policies to blame.
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