New York City is no stranger to crime, but a recent surge in shoplifting has shelves looking more bare than usual.
Thanks to state bail reform laws, shoplifting has become commonplace for city criminals.
As reported by the New York Post, one man - Isaac Rodriguez - has been arrested for shoplifting a whopping 46 times this year alone because of the laws.
“Insanity,” Dermot Shea, the New York City Police Commissioner, tweeted last week. “No other way to describe the resulting crime that has flowed from disastrous bail reform law.”
Even if they’re arrested, shoplifters are typically released the same day, and cases against them are often not prosecuted.
Rodriguez allegedly stole from Walgreens 37 times, filling up a bag with items like soap, body lotion, protein drinks and baby formula, then walking out the door without paying.
There are 77 other thieves like Rodriguez roaming the streets of New York with rap sheets of 20 or more charges, according to NYPD sources.
As of September 12, New York City has seen 26,385 retail theft complaints, the most ever recorded in history. This marks a 32 percent increase compared to last year.
Not only are shoplifters posing a problem for drug stores, so are supply chain shortages.
“Product supply challenges are currently impacting most of the retail industry,” CVS spokesman Matthew Blanchette told the New York Post. “We’re continuing to work with our vendors to address this issue and we regret any inconvenience that our customers may be experiencing.”
