A survey from retail advocacy groups, the National Retail Federation and the Loss Prevention Research Council, shows that shoplifting is more common today than before the pandemic.
It reports that the average number of shoplifting incidents per year has increased by 93% in 2023 compared to 2019. The report claims that the “underlying” challenge behind this increase is organized retail crime.
The group is using the study’s findings to advocate for federal legislation that would make it easier to prosecute theft as a federal crime and create a task force within the Department of Homeland Security to share resources among state and local agencies.
“Retailers continue to navigate an increasing retail theft landscape that has evolved significantly over time,” said David Johnston, NRF vice president for Asset Protection and Retail Operations, in a press release. “Protecting store workers and customers, along with reducing current levels of violence and retail crime, requires a whole-of-community approach and collaboration between all stakeholders.”
WPTV has reported several shoplifting and organized shoplifting incidents in recent years. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed new legislation addressing retail theft and organized retail theft in April 2024.
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at Walgreens in Stuart, April 9, 2024
The law lowers the threshold for charges of more serious crimes, adds penalties if people work together with more than four people to steal items or use social media to communicate, and increases penalties for those with prior convictions.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody in 2021 created a statewide task force to combat shoplifting and a new interactive database to help identify trends and suspects and facilitate arrests. In a press release, Moody said the database helped arrest a woman who caused more than $100,000 in losses at stores in five counties.
Exterior of the Palm Beach County Jail
“Working with our law enforcement partners and our Florida Organized Retail Crime Exchange Task Force, we dismantled a massive organized retail theft ring this week, with a third arrest,” said Moody. “Criminal organizations be warned: in Florida we have the resources and talent to investigate and take down your criminal enterprise, and you will pay for your crimes.”
Other interest groups, such as the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rightsclaim that organizations like the National Retail Federation are using outdated data to create a fear-of-facts narrative.
They argue that this narrative is then used to implement “punitive policies” that further criminalize poverty and potentially cause disproportionate harm to vulnerable communities.
Scripps content only 2024