Retail theft overlooked by prosecutors at expense of shoppers, worker safety, Congress told

Soft-on-crime policies and liberal prosecutors are fueling a nationwide scourge of retail theft that is closing businesses and — in some cases — costing lives, congressional lawmakers heard Tuesday. 

Former prosecutors told lawmakers that organized criminals understand that shoplifting and theft were downgraded to less-serious offenses in recent years in many jurisdictions — and that’s given the crooks a green light. 

“The criminals are winning in our society right now,” Rep. Russell Fry, South Carolina Republican, said after hearing witnesses testify before the House Judiciary Committee. “We want to play cute with law enforcement, but people are suffering, businesses are suffering [and] families are suffering.”

Former federal prosecutor John Milhiser told the panel that prosecutions of shoplifters are falling through the cracks in part because of a lack of resources and staff. In other cases, he said, prosecutions are down because progressive district attorneys are playing politics. 

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach also testified to lawmakers that bail reform laws have made it easier for suspected thieves to be released at little or no cost.

That’s despite retail ransackings being carried out by organized groups from sophisticated crime syndicates to “boosters” who are looting stores in order to fence the product.

The trend in recent years toward a softer approach to handling offenders is inviting more risk into everyday shopping trips, not only for customers but for store employees such as Blake Mohs.

Lawmakers heard from Lorie Mohs, who testified that her son was shot and killed by a suspected thief in April while working as a loss-prevention officer for a Home Depot in Pleasanton, California. Blake, an Eagle Scout and a law enforcement cadet was 26.

Ms. Mohs told The Washington Times after the congressional hearing that violent interactions were a regular occurrence for her late son while he worked to prevent theft on the job.

“It wasn’t his first [time facing a] gun, nor his first weapon. He had seen knives. He had seen guns. He had seen items in the store being used to hurt him,” Ms. Mohs said. She directed most of the blame on Home Depot for not better protecting its employees.

Ms. Mohs said she was told that Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has said she will not pursue elevated charges against suspect Benicia Knapps.

Ms. Price, who was elected in the fall, circulated a memo this spring that advised all prosecutors in her office to seek probation in most plea deals and only pursue sentencing enhancements in “extraordinary” circumstances.

“Apparently, my son’s life didn’t deserve to be lived, because these [suspects] deserve to be rehabilitated instead,” Ms. Mohs said.

Tuesday’s hearing comes as retailers sound the alarm on theft, shoplifting and smash-and-grabs hitting epidemic levels in some American cities.

The National Retail Federation reported that “inventory shrink” — or lost inventory due to customer theft, employee theft, human errors or other reasons — hit $94.5 billion in 2021, which is a 53% jump from where it was in 2019.

The uptick in losses has some big box retailers fleeing from the most crime-ridden U.S. cities.

Nordstrom and Banana Republic have left the San Francisco Centre shopping mall, with mall operator Westfield deciding to leave the city as well. Nike and REI have shut down stores in Portland due to brazen theft. Walmart has evacuated from Chicago’s Southside and parts of Washington, D.C., while Best Buy is retreating throughout the nation due to lower spending and theft-induced losses.

Social media videos regularly show drug store chains CVS and Walgreens being targeted for their basic supplies. However, Walgreens revealed a new layout for one of their storefronts in Chicago earlier this month that seems to mitigate the risk of theft.

The redesigned location only has two aisles customers can peruse; the remainder of the store’s items have to be ordered on a digital kiosk near the entrance. Once customers put their order in, employees will go select the items and bring them to the patrons.

A Walgreens spokesperson told the Chicago Sun-Times the changes weren’t made in response to crime, but instead were done to better curate the customer experience.

But experts who study theft can see how the new design represents a lack of faith in customers to shop responsibly.

“I do think trust, at all levels, is eroding, and that’s a consequence of harmful actions [some shoppers] take,” Read Hayes, the director of the Loss Prevention Research Council, told The Times.

It explains why many basic items in CVS stores around the District —- from body wash and skin lotion to toothpaste and deodorant —- are kept locked behind glass cages. 

Mr. Hayes said people seem to be feeling less shame and embarrassment when they shoplift. In fact, for some crooks, it’s the opposite — people are filming themselves committing the crimes.

“They don’t seem to care. They’re bragging about it,” Mr. Hayes said.

Barbara C. Staib, a spokesperson for the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, told The Times that a breakdown in community connections is making people feel less attached to the stores they visit.

Customers and store owners used to be well-acquainted, and if a shopper tried stealing something, a parent or spouse or friend would hear about it.

“We were working on the honor system, and relying on the honesty of our shoppers and the people in our stores,” Ms. Staib said. “That has dwindled.”