New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vows to crack down on shoplifting crime in the region as businesses plead for assistance as the number of incidents has surged.
Business owners are increasing pressure on the Democratic governor and the state Legislature and are calling for stiffer penalties against serial offenders who are wreaking havoc in their stores. Nelson Eusabio of the National Supermarket Association and part of the coalition Collective Action to Protect Our Stores (CAP) released a statement on the matter.
Shoplifting Surge in New York
He said that they will continue to live in this nightmare if legislators do not do anything to fix the mess. Eusabio noted that lawmakers who represent 213 districts across the Empire State are up for re-election in the fall and they have to do something to curb retail theft.
Eusabio added that they are now planning to be more active in Albany this year and will bring up shopkeepers from legislators' districts to "get in their faces." Last year, lawmakers refused to pass a bill that would have increased the severity of charges for certain repeat shoplifters. This made it possible for them to be ordered to be held on bail, as per the New York Post.
Instead, the Legislature only passed one bill, which created a task force to study the shoplifting issue, which was vetoed by Hochul. On Sunday, however, the governor's office said that the message was heard and said a plan would be unveiled to stem shoplifting during Hochuk's State of the State address on Tuesday.
The Democrat telegraphed her intention to tackle retail theft while speaking to the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs' Association on Nov. 9, 2023. At the time, she pledged to focus on the rise in retail theft. She added that they had some announcements coming out on the initiative.
On the other hand, Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz said that his measure to charge recidivist shoplifters with fourth-degree grand larceny remains high on his to-do list. He noted that the issue has to be a priority because shopkeepers are suffering.
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Addressing the Rise in Theft Cases
In the past few years, the United States is said to have experienced a shoplifting epidemic, with video footage of people brazenly stealing merchandise from retailers. Additionally, many chains closed some of their stores, citing a rise in theft as the primary reason, according to Vox News.
However, there is little data that suggests that there is a nationwide problem that is in need of an immediate response from lawmakers. Instead, the United States seems to be experiencing fewer shoplifting cases in general.
The rise in the specific crime seems to be limited to a few cities, which is particularly true for New York City. Outside of the Big Apple, shoplifting incidents in major cities have fallen 7% since 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.
The main reason that shoplifting is being viewed as more frequent is primarily because events in New York tend to receive outsize scrutiny. This is because it is the biggest city in the U.S. and it has a big retail market while also being the headquarters for much of the national media, said the New York Times.
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