NYC’s shoplifting crackdown helps first-time offenders by providing in-store kiosks for thieves.

New York City’s Plan to Combat Retail Theft Falls Flat

Five months after Mayor Eric Adams convened a summit to battle shoplifting, the city’s plan to stop retail theft was unveiled to shrugs and eye-rolling last week. The plan calls for installing kiosks in stores so that thieves who are reaching for something to steal can connect with social services programs instead. First-timers would not be prosecuted under the Adams plan. Instead, they would enter intervention programs. De-escalation training would be offered to retail workers who might otherwise try to stop a theft in progress. Neighborhood retail theft watch groups would be formed so retailers could tell each other when they were robbed and inform the police.

Not Everyone is Impressed

Retired NYPD Lieutenant Commander of Detectives and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal College, Ralph Cilento, called the plan a “pipe dream.” He said Adams was driven by the need “to satisfy his liberal base, which I understand he has to do.” Cilento believes that shoplifters need to be caught and prosecuted. The plan has a separate strand for repeat offenders, but there is no enforcement arm in the steps against them.

Republican Assemblymen Speak Out

Republican Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny told the New York Post, “I don’t think they want to deal with it. They are all afraid of the progressives.” Republican Assemblyman Michael Tannousis said that unless state lawmakers end the revolving door the justice system has become, nothing will change. “It would have to allow judges to be able to set bail on repeat offenders and increase their discretion. And any type of plan that the mayor puts forth, although it may be well-intentioned, is going to be at a significant disadvantage because our judges do not have the discretion to be able to set bail, or detain someone that continuously commits these types of crimes.”

The New York Post Weighs In

In an editorial, the New York Post savaged the plan, calling it “pathetically lame.” The Post believes that state lawmakers have left Adams without any sticks available, so he’s resorting to limp carrots. The paper believes that the plan is at a significant disadvantage because judges do not have the discretion to set bail or detain someone that continuously commits these types of crimes.

• Installing kiosks in stores to connect thieves with social services programs is not a viable solution.
• De-escalation training for retail workers is a good idea.
• Neighborhood retail theft watch groups are a good idea.
• Repeat offenders need to be caught and prosecuted.
• State lawmakers need to end the revolving door the justice system has become.

The plan to combat retail theft in New York City falls flat. It seems that state lawmakers have left Mayor Eric Adams without any sticks available, so he’s resorting to limp carrots. The plan has no enforcement arm in the steps against repeat offenders, and judges do not have the discretion to set bail or detain someone that continuously commits these types of crimes. It remains to be seen if anything will change.