From Washington Times.com (Dec. 1, 2021):
Democrats on Capitol Hill are flummoxed by the waves of smash-and-grab retail thefts in their states, with some denying it’s happening and others saying they are not ready to make major shoplifting a felony.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, said retailers could be fabricating the rash of smash-and-grab burglaries and “flash mob” shoplifting sprees.
“We have to talk about specifics because, for example, we’re actually seeing a lot of these allegations of organized retail theft are not actually panning out,” she told The Washington Times. “I believe it’s a Walgreens in California cited it, but the data didn’t back it up.”
Organized crime theft slammed big-box retail stores including Apple, Nordstrom and Home Depot in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis and other cities, according to police reports.
The numbers spiked with the onset of the holiday shopping season. Brazen organized burglaries were reported across the U.S. on Black Friday and again Saturday.
TV news crews have caught smash-and-grab thefts on video.
With the emergence of organized “flash mobs” that storm chain stores and flee with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise to resell, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry and other executives say the thefts threaten their businesses’ bottom lines.
Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said law enforcement should focus on the resellers of stolen goods, not the thieves on the front lines.
“I’m not going to categorically say shoplifters or people who steal in the store be convicted of felonies,” he said in an interview. “I’m not ready to say that. I don’t think that’s fair.”
He explained, “It isn’t just the person who’s sweeping the goods off the shelf into a bag. It’s what that person does with that bag next.” [read more]
I don’t know but if you don’t punish criminals you will get more crime. Just make sense to me.
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