It turns out shoplifting isn’t spiraling out of control, but lawmakers are pushing for tougher penalties for low-level and nonviolent crimes anyway.
Over the last couple of years, it seemed that America was experiencing a shoplifting epidemic. Videos of people brazenly stealing merchandise from retailers often went viral; chains closed some of their stores and cited a rise in theft as the primary reason; and drugstores such as CVS and Walgreens started locking up more of their inventory, including everyday items like toothpaste, soaps, and snacks. Lawmakers from both major parties called for, and in some cases even implemented, more punitive law enforcement policies aimed at bucking the apparent trend.
But evidence of a spike in shoplifting, it turns out, was mostly anecdotal. In fact, there’s little data to suggest that there’s a nationwide problem in need of an immediate response from city councils or state legislatures. Instead, what America seems to be experiencing is less of a shoplifting wave and more of a moral panic.
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Now, those more forgiving criminal justice policies are at risk, in part because of a perceived trend that appears to have been overblown.
Eons ago when I was working in retail, pretty much all the training on “shrink” (aka losses, including theft) emphasized that the overwhelming majority of it comes from employees (and not necessarily from employee theft). Things have certainly changed in the post-covid era, but the fundamentals haven’t changed all that much. So, I have been skeptical about some of the retailers’ shoplifting claims.
I was IN loss prevention. Literal store detective.
Did we catch the occasional shoplifter? Yes.
Were they as common or as high dollar value as employees skimming or scamming? Abso-fucking-lutely not.
If you’re in retail, rest assured, those folks are there to catch you more than they’re there to catch shoplifters.
When I worked in retail, anecdotally, it was my understanding that most theft was internal. At Real Canadian Superstore (think Walmart Supercenter, but not Walmart) I saw lots of my coworkers steal all kinds of things. We went through one loss prevention after another, fired for, you guessed it, stealing (ironic, I know). Most of my co workers stole their food for their meal breaks. I very rarely saw or heard of a customer being caught stealing. And no, no one reported others to management.
If you didn’t notice the customers stealing you were probably too busy actually working and not attending to all the fuckin thieves
or, just maybe, there aren’t as many thieves as the coalition of tough on crime lawmakers and corporate interest want you to think there is
There are plenty of thieves because the mechanics of monetizing stolen goods totally changed with online markets and life is tough at the low end of the financial spectrum. It would be shocking if they’re weren’t. I’m a Democrat who recognizes the worthiness of helping people and hates Republican scumbags. I’m not buying into any narrative I’m just recognizing reality.