Gov. Kathy Hochul had a Valentine’s Day gift for retailers in New York state when on Feb. 14 she announced a multipronged effort to fight retail theft including shoplifting and smash-and-grab store invasions. The Retail Theft Joint Operation would bring together various law enforcement agencies for a coordinated response, using the model established when the Interstate Task Force on illegal Guns was formed.
Among the specifics are:
- Introducing legislation to establish criminal penalties for online marketplaces and third-party sellers that foster the sale of stolen goods and increase criminal penalties for assaulting retail workers.
- Setting up a New York State Police Smash and Grab Enforcement Unit with a first-year budget of $25.2 million for a dedicated State Police team to build cases against organized retail theft rings and create a new State Police enforcement unit dedicated to this purpose.
- $10 million in funding for district attorneys to prosecute property crime cases and deploy dedicated Retail Theft Teams in District Attorney Offices.
- $5 million in additional state funding to build the capacity of local law enforcement efforts to combat retail theft.
- $5 million for a Commercial Security Tax Credit to help business owners offset the costs of certain store security measures.
“There’s an unease when people start to see, or they go into a grocery store, or a drug store and people are taking things off the shelves and the toothpaste is locked up and it’s such a hassle to buy it again,” Hochul said. “So, people are saying, ‘I’ll just forget that. I’ll just buy it online.’”
Funding for much of he initiative has been included in the new Executive Budget that was proposed recently.
Staten Island District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, who was at Hochul’s announcement said, “Despite opinions to the contrary, retail theft is not a victimless crime. These brazen thieves threaten the safety of employees and law-abiding shoppers alike, worsen the quality of life and overall shopping experience for everyday New Yorkers, and weaken our local economy. More must be done to restore public safety and peace of mind to our state’s shoppers, employees, and retailers.”
Hochul explained that some small retailers are having trouble dealing with the costs of not only stolen merchandise and damage caused by vandals but with the costs of installing security cameras and other equipment in the hopes of preventing future crimes.
“If you don’t have the resources, you can get a tax credit, take it off your taxes,” Hochul said about the tax aspect of the plan that she hopes to see enacted. “It’s a shame we have to do this, but I’m not going to leave them hanging.”
Hochul had a direct message for retail thieves and would-be thieves.
“We’re coming after you. You’re on notice,” Hochul said. “We’ve had enough, people deserve to be able to walk their streets, go to their shops, go in their stores safely, purchase their products, go back home without an incident, and our shop workers deserve to feel that they are protected once again and not say, ‘I’ve had enough. I’m leaving.’”
Hochul pointed out that retailing is a $45 billion annual business in New York that employs 70,000 people.
“These are the people we have to protect,” Hochul said. “They went through so much of this pandemic, they were shut down. They’re barely hanging on as it is, and they come out of it thinking the sunny skies are back, the bright days are here – and all of a sudden there’s this specter of crime at unprecedented levels.”
