When it comes to retail theft, it’s everyday Californians who are getting swindled | Opinion
The legislature’s Select Committee on Retail Theft is set to hold its second hearing tomorrow, promising renewed fervor in the ongoing debate around retail theft. It’s a key issue for the committee and the public, as we walk past extra security guards in stores and press buttons to call employees to unlock our toiletries.
A constant churn of headlines blaming shoplifting for store closures — from Walgreens to mom-and-pop shops — means it’s no surprise that legislators want to act.
No one is happy with the current situation. We want our local businesses to succeed, we want to buy toothpaste without waiting for an employee to come open a lockbox and we don’t want our neighbors so desperate they resort to theft. Elected officials have a responsibility to address these concerns — but they also have a duty to pursue evidence-based solutions grounded in credible information.
It’s clear the information driving media, public and legislative interest in retail theft is unreliable at best. Last month, the National Retail Federation had to retract its high-profile claim blaming “organized retail theft” for inventory losses, and one shopping center executive recently told lawmakers he had asked 15 retailers for data on retail theft, and none could provide it. Even the California Retailers Association has acknowledged there is no comprehensive, reliable data on theft.
Our solutions cannot be grounded in exaggerated claims of a retail theft epidemic.
What we know is this: One report shows that despite an increase in 2022, shoplifting across California is down 8% from pre-pandemic levels. At the local level, shoplifting in some cities, such as Los Angeles, has increased in recent months while decreasing in others, such as San Francisco. Yet the public debate about retail theft, fueled by misinformation and viral “smash and grab” videos, misses this nuance.
For years, corporations like Walgreens and Target have claimed to be closing stores because of retail theft, only for it to be revealed that they kept nearby stores with higher incidents of crime open; struggled financially for other reasons; and, maybe, per the Walgreens finance chief, “cried too much” about merchandise loss.
There are consequences to these exaggerations. For Banko Brown, a 24-year-old Black trans man killed in San Francisco last April by a Walgreens security guard who accused him of shoplifting, those consequences were deadly. Anyone in favor of harsher sentences for shoplifting should also consider the awful fate of Amanda Bews, who died in 2022 in a Los Angeles County jail where she was being held after an alleged theft.
Yet legislators are barreling forward, attempting to institute harsher penalties for petty theft and roll back Proposition 47, despite voters rejecting such an attempt in 2020 and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s resistance. Under Prop. 47, passed by California voters in 2014, non-violent property crimes where the value does not exceed $950 are considered misdemeanors.
The evidence indicates that rolling back Prop. 47 will not be effective, as study after study shows that neither lengthened sentences nor increased charges and punishments based on a second or third offense meaningfully deters crime. Instead, these policies would just send more Black and Latino people to prison.
Throwing the book at people isn’t the answer, but we do need solutions. To break the cycle of crime and deter theft, we need to address why people shoplift. When people are arrested for crimes of desperation, connecting them to stable housing, employment and other treatment and services is a more effective intervention than arrests and jail time. When people shoplift as part of an organized retail theft operation, law enforcement should investigate and hold accountable the people who profit most from these sophisticated operations.
Finally, the best investment in a safe and enjoyable shopping experience is to hire and train more workers.
“The greatest deterrent for any type of theft activity is effective customer service,” says Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison, who attributes the low impact of retail theft on his chain’s profits to well-trained and well-compensated staff.
The Legislature should support these efforts however it can. We have the tools to solve this without resorting to harsh, ineffective punishments. Let’s get to work.