Major Retailers Pour Money Behind Controversial Anti-Theft Measure

Target and Walmart have collectively donated $1.5 million in support of a proposed amendment to California’s Proposition 47. The amendment would increase the severity of punishments for shoplifting.

Making changes

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After Proposition 47 was passed in 2014, nonviolent shoplifting of items worth less than $950 was downgraded from a felony to a misdemeanor. However, the proposed amendment would “allow separate thefts to be added up to surpass the $950 threshold for felony charges,” according to Supermarket News

Further measures

Additionally, the proposed change “would also ramp up sentencing for people working as a group to steal goods or for taking more than $50,000 in property,” Supermarket News explained.

Using evidence

The changes would also allow retailers to use security footage to build cases against people who shoplifted multiple times. Supporters have insisted that this would not be misused against people who make mistakes — like failing to scan an item or taking something by mistake.

Dubious claim

Dishonest businessman telling lies, lying businessperson holding fingers crossed behind his back. Lie — Illustration. Image credit: Depositphotos

However, people are already occasionally arrested for stealing when they didn’t commit any crime. In September, a South Carolina woman sued Walmart after spending the night in jail for shoplifting despite never entering the store on the day of the supposed crime.

Flawed process

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The woman had been mistakenly identified from footage of the theft. “I was praying when I was there, and I was crying because I was upset because I knew that that wasn’t me,” she said. Though her charges were dismissed, “the damage had already been done,” as her legal representatives noted. The woman had been fired due to the arrest.

Prominent supporters

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The proposed changes have the backing of San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. Target has donated $500,000 to the cause, and Walmart has given double that.

Crime narrative

Police cars at night. Police car chasing a car at night with fog background. 911 Emergency response police car speeding to scene of crime. Selective focus — Photo by Depositphotos.com

Over the last few years, retailers have repeatedly blamed rising property crime for store closures, especially in major cities like San Francisco. However, the reported property crime rate in the US has plummeted in the last few decades, falling from over 5,000 cases per 100,000 people to under 2,000 cases per 100,000 people in 2022.

Direct check

In contrast to the prevailing narrative around shoplifting, an October study by the Public Policy Institute of California found that property crime has actually declined since Proposition 47 was passed in 2014.

Caveat

That being said, shoplifting isn’t always reported to the police, because it’s not seen as worth it. Nevertheless, a 2018 study by the Public Policy Institute of California found that while Proposition 47 might have caused an uptick in shoplifting, the increase had mostly reversed after a few years.

Comparison

Additionally, California’s $950 threshold for property crime becoming a felony is actually quite low. Texas, for example, which has far stricter crime policies than California, sets the threshold at $2,500.

Exaggerations

Retailers have spent years fueling fears of a shoplifting crisis, but at least some of those claims turned out to be false. In Jan 2023, Walgreens’ chief financial officer said, “Maybe we cried too much last year.”

Retraction

In December, the National Retail Federation retracted its claim that almost half of the industry’s almost $95 billion losses were due to “organized retail crime.” It blamed bad data — but as CNBC noted, “the flawed data reinforces skepticism about the claims that retailers and their powerful trade associations make about organized retail crime, because even the industry’s own data is difficult to trust.”