Retail Theft Trends Still on the Increase; States Fighting Back, Says New Chamber of Commerce Report

The stories of a significant rise in retail theft in cities along the West coast have been making all the headlines, but the problem now knows no one region or section of the country, asserts a new report issued by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In its Crime Risk to Business 2023, the Chamber notes the results of a recent survey indicating that around 56% of small business respondents said they had recently been the victims of theft, while another 53% in a separate question said they thought the problem had substantially worsened in the last year.

“The scourge of organized retail crime has become increasingly pervasive,” remarked Tom Wickham, a senior vice president of the Chamber, in a statement.

Wickham went on to note that as of the end of 2022, “retailer losses driven by retail crime” represented $100 billion.

And statistics compiled between January and August of this year indicate that retail theft has been just as omnipresent as it was in 2022: mentions of retail crime by companies listed on the Standard and Poor’s 500 index were up by 43% in the first eight months of this year.

At the current rate, this means that acts of crime against retailers are on pace to see a 94% increase by the end of this year.

In an effort to reduce those rates, the Chamber is recommending that state lawmakers should “update their laws to allow prosecutors to aggregate multiple offenders across jurisdictions.”

The organization is also pushing for local prosecutors to aggressively pursue crimes against businesses. In cases where prosecutors fail to act, the Chamber recommends, lawmakers should act to remove those prosecutors.

According to Chamber statistics, Arizona stores last year saw thefts from individuals or organized groups worth $2.4 billion; losses in Colorado had a dollar value of $1.6 billion.

New Mexico businesses and store owners were only marginally less victimized, with losses in the $819 million neighborhood.

In response, a dozen states in the last year have revised statutes allowing for a greater prosecution of such crimes; while five states have passed legislation allowing prosecutors to employ “aggregation of offenses” charges for felony repeat offenders.

Continued Wickham in his statement: “No store should have to close because of theft, but sadly we are seeing more stores, particularly smaller ones, shuttering their doors because of theft and other crime in their neighborhoods.”

According to new figures released by the National Retail Federation, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, and Seattle are among the top 12 cities for retail theft. But cities further inland have hardly been spared, with Albuquerque, Denver, and Houston also making the top 12.

Rounding out the list: Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, and New York.

​By Garry Boulard

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